England hand Josh Tongue shock call-up for Ireland Test in place of Chris Woakes

England will hand a shock Test debut to Josh Tongue against Ireland at Lord’s on Thursday at the expense of Chris Woakes, offering the Worcestershire seamer an 11th-hour Ashes audition.

Tongue has never played at Lord’s before and was a late addition to England’s squad last week due to injuries to premier quicks Jimmy Anderson and Ollie Robinson.

But having impressed in the nets, he has been catapulted into the XI, as cap 711, ahead of seasoned international and Lord’s specialist Chris Woakes.

It is a brutal call on Woakes, who had been in line to play his first Test match since last March. So certain did he seem to make the XI at a ground where he averages 61.2 with the bat and 11.3 with the ball that he was wheeled out for media duties two days out from the match.

He spoke of a “dark” summer in 2022 where he was sidelined by a knee injury and wondered if he would add to his 45 Test caps. That wait will now last a little longer.

Otherwise, England’s XI is as anticipated in the absence of a number of seamers. Anderson, who bowled a significant amount at Lord’s on Tuesday, and Robinson are on ice until the Ashes, while Mark Wood will return to the North East on paternity leave.

That means Stuart Broad will lead the attack this week at Lord’s, with youngsters Matt Potts – set to play his first Test since last summer – and Tongue alongside him.

Jofra Archer is out of the entire Test summer with a recurrence of the stress-fracture of his right elbow, while Olly Stone is out until at least the third Ashes Test with a hamstring injury. Other pacy hopefuls such as Jamie Overton and Brydon Carse are also currently sidelined with injury, opening the opportunity for Tongue.

It is clear that England are desperate to try him out before the Ashes, where he may yet have a role to play.

Ben Stokes is named at No 6, but it is unclear whether he will bowl, while Jonny Bairstow is recalled after injury as wicketkeeper-batsman at No 7.

While Tongue has a strong overall first-class record – 162 wickets at 26 – this season his numbers are modest, with an average north of 41. But, according to head coach Brendon McCullum, England see a “big strong lad” who could make the step-up to Test level.

“He looks like he bowls quite fast and has some real skills,” said McCullum on Monday. “He is obviously a bit of a rough diamond, he’s had some injuries throughout his career and it is nice for a guy like him to be able to have an extended period of time where he has been injury-free this summer to push his case.

“We think he has got something really exciting and hence we brought him into the squad. He looks like he has an immense amount of talent”.

Tongue left speechless by call-up after nearly being forced to retire

This has been a week of wide-eyed wonderment for Josh Tongue at Lord’s, right up to the moment, at the end of his second training session in England kit, when he received a tap on the shoulder from Brendon McCullum. The Test coach informed him that, on Thursday, he would become Test cap No 711 in the four-day match against Ireland.

“It’s an amazing feeling,” said Tongue. “I’m speechless, even from when I got the first call-up to be in the squad. Now being in the actual team, it’s just a dream come true.”

Tongue arrived at Lord’s this week with “no expectations to be playing at all”. Most around the England set-up thought he was just there for the experience, too, although he was handed a three lions helmet. The only catch was that the box it came in saw his name misspelt as Tounge, much to the amusement of his new team-mates.

“Fingers crossed they spell my name right on my shirt,” he said laughing.

He had never played at Lord’s for his county, Worcestershire, only visiting to watch Test matches as a youngster with his cricket-mad family. This was his first time in the England changing room, and pavilion more widely.

His father, Phil, a cricket coach, his brother Ryan, who played for Herefordshire and Worcestershire seconds, and other family members – including Tongue’s partner and child – will be back at Lord’s with him on Thursday. “It’s going to be a very emotional day for my dad,” smiled Tongue, “he’s that sort of character.”

Tongue’s selection is a triumph for his family, but also for Worcestershire, who are hardly a powerhouse in the county game right now, but are a proud, community-focused club. Tongue is only 25, but has been with them for almost two decades.

“It’s going to be a massive thing for Worcester,” he said. “Playing from the age of six years old, going through the age groups to getting my first professional contract, there are a lot of people at Worcester who have influenced my career. I’m just thankful to all those who have helped me on my journey.”

Tongue had two net sessions with England and, as he says, “must have bowled fairly well to get selected”. Especially given that the man he pipped, Chris Woakes, is one of just five men on all three honours boards – hundred, five-wicket haul, 10-wicket haul – at this ground. It is a big call.

All this less than a year after Tongue returned from a rare shoulder injury that led him to consider retirement. Thoracic outlet syndrome meant he was unable to feel his entire right arm, required two operations, and botox injections.

England have rated him for some time, so called him straight into the Lions squad this winter. He picked up an eight-wicket haul, then was the first man to dismiss the great Steve Smith this summer. That particular lbw call was marginal, but he troubled him throughout his spell.

‘I had two operations and was in a very dark place’

“I’m just proud of myself and how I held in there,” he said. “I was very close to retiring just due to my shoulder. Having two operations, seeing a lot of specialists and I was in a really dark place.

“I don’t think there’s that many bowlers who have been in the same situation as me. Obviously nearly retiring, then getting called up to the Lions in Sri Lanka in the winter and now getting called into the Test squad. I’m just proud of myself really.

“Since I was a young kid I always dreamt about playing for England. Now knowing I stuck in there, shows that mentally I was in a good place and it’s come good.”

Tongue now has an opportunity to stake a claim for a place in the Ashes. England are clearly desperate for a look at him, as they have bloodied the nose of Woakes, a stalwart, to get it. But in the absence of quicker men like Jofra Archer, Olly Stone, Brydon Carse and Jamie Overton, Tongue represents a point of difference. Not that he wants to be drawn on that just yet.

“I’m the sort of person to stay in the present,” he said. “I try not to think too much ahead of myself, and whatever game I play in I just try and perform and do as much as I can for the team to win a game of cricket. Those things will come, hopefully. So I’m not really thinking about the Ashes at the minute.”

A couple of lessons from this episode on this England team. One: pure County Championship form will not always provide an accurate guide to selection. Essex’s Sam Cook, for instance, has been pulling up trees again, with 21 more Division One wickets at an average of 18 this year. But Tongue – 11 Division Two wickets at 41 – is a bit bigger, a bit quicker, and felt to be more suited to the step-up to Test level right now.

The runs and wickets charts are important but, as Ben Stokes and McCullum have said, style and approach are, too.

Two, expect the unexpected. Only a few hours earlier, poor Woakes had been earnestly expressing his excitement at his widely expected return to the team after a difficult year. He spoke about how one bowler’s misfortune – take the injured Archer – was another’s opportunity; at this stage, him. By the evening, as Tongue rejoiced, it was Woakes getting the tap on the shoulder to say he would be missing out.