Josh Tongue is one of three England players who are under investigation by Cricket Regulator for their role in a nightclub brawl in New Zealand last year.
England white-ball captain Harry Brook is at the centre of that storm, and the up-and-coming batsman Jacob Bethell, who made a brilliant century in the T20 World Cup semifinal against India last month, completes the trio who were involved in Wellington before a one-day international.
The incident actually came to light weeks later after the Ashes early this year, and Brook was subsequently fined. Tongue wasn’t even part of the squad there, but happened to be there as part of his Ashes preparations. The fast bowler recently spoke to BBC Sport and admitted they should not have been involved in an episode like that.
“I’ve learned from it, and I’m just trying to focus on the cricket now,” Tongue said.
“I’m just looking forward to the summer starting. We’re privileged to play for England, and I can’t wait to step back on that pitch if selected.”
The Ashes tour was quite bad for the English team. They lost the rubber 4-1. All through the series, reports emerged that Test captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum were not on the same page.
Then all hell broke loose when it emerged that after their only win in the Test rubber, in the second Test, some of the players drank hard in Noosa, a famous holiday destination in Australia. Opener Ben Duckett was pictured inebriated, and it created a big storm in the media, and the players were taken to task for partying too early in the series.
Needless to say, England ended up losing the rest of the games in the series. However, Tongue, who took 18 wickets in three Tests with a five-for to speak of, said things were not like they were portrayed in the media.
“When it comes to the training days, we train really hard. We’re human beings, and we feel like we need to get away from cricket as well, because obviously when you’re playing in front of 40,000, 60,000, or even 95,000 people, you’ve got to switch off from the game,” he said.
Tongue was also happy that McCullum got to keep his job following an investigation into the Ashes debacle. Stokes and Rob Key, director of cricket, were also retained late last month.
“I’m really happy that Baz [McCullum] is staying as head coach. I get on really well with Baz, and he gives me a lot of confidence. One of the best things he gives is that he helps you to be as high [confidence-wise] as you can be before stepping onto that pitch. That’s how you’re going to perform at your best – it helps me a lot,” Tongue, who is all set to represent Nottinghamshire in the county cricket season opener against Somerset on Friday, said.
