24 May 2023 , 10:09
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Worcestershire fast bowler Josh Tongue has been called up as cover for the England squad to face Ireland at Lord's after impressing for the Lions last winter.
Following the news that Ollie Robinson would most likely be joining James Anderson and Mark Wood on the sidelines for the Ireland Test starting next Thursday, it left England with little wriggle room in the bowling department in case someone was unable to to play on the morning of the match.
Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes and Matthew Potts are all set to play, but should one of them suffer an unfortunate late injury or illness then Tongue will be on standby for a shock debut at the home of cricket.
The 25-year-old burst on to the domestic scene back in 2017 as part of Worcestershire's promotion winning side as a 19-year-old, and last summer earned a spot on the Lions tour to Sri Lanka where he took match figures of 8-153 in the second Test against Sri Lanka 'A' at Galle.
This summer he has played four Championship matches taking 11 wickets at an average of 41, including the wickets of international stars Steve Smith lbw and Cheteshwar Pujara caught behind against Sussex.
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But his selection is clearly one of a player of potential who has impressed new England national selector Luke Wright.
Josh Tongue has been called up by England as cover for the Ireland Test (Matthew Lewis)Wright said: “We have been monitoring Josh for quite some time and he deserves this call-up to the Test squad. It will be a great experience for him to understand and get used to the environment under Ben and Brendon.
“It is important to have players ready to respond and with a big summer of Test cricket coming up, we will need that depth to our squad. We wish Josh and the rest of the squad well for the first international of the campaign.”