Josh Tongue has genuine chance of playing in Ashes: England's former captain Eoin Morgan
Jun 04, 2023
London [UK], June 4 : Former England captain Eoin Morgan has praised young bowler Josh Tongue who has earned his spot on the Lord's Honours board with brilliant spell of 5/66 wickets against Ireland in a one-off test match.
The 25-year-old bowler has also been added to the squad for the first two matches of the Ashes series, which was announced on Saturday. In the match against Ireland, Tongue made the most of his late call-up to the Test side to take a five-wicket haul to help England wrap up Ireland's second innings on Day 3, with the visitors setting a target of just 11 runs.
Morgan believes that Tongue can be a good addition to the team as in various stages of the game, "you require different bowling options".
"As a captain, you need to have cards up your sleeve in order to play them at various stages of the game," Morgan told Sky Sports.
England has an eye on the much-awaited Ashes Series, which will start on June 16 after defeating Ireland, while Australia will play against India in the ICC World Test Championship final at the Oval in London on June 7 to June 11.
Focusing on the Ashes, Morgan said, "One of the questions that are hovering over this team at the moment is when it does go flat, will it turn, and if it doesn't, you need somebody with a bit of pace or some point of difference."
"He has a genuine chance of playing in the Ashes if the injuries continue to come. The fact that he's in the squad gives him the opportunity to continue to impress," he concluded.