"He is able to produce those wicket-taking balls" - R Ashwin lavishes praise on England bowler after Ashes 2025-26 4th Test

Former Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin lavished praise on England speedster Josh Tongue after the latter's match-winning bowling performance in the fourth Ashes 2025-26 Test in Melbourne. Ashwin said that Tongue consistently bowls wicket-taking balls to trouble the batters.

The right-arm pacer took five wickets in the first innings to skittle Australia for 152 on Day 1, becoming the first Englishman after Darren Gough and Dean Headley to bag a fifer at the venue. He added two more to his tally in England's second innings, as the tourists secured a nervy four-wicket win.

Speaking to a journalist in a recent video on his YouTube channel 'Ashwin,' the 39-year-old said he remembered Tongue from his stint with Worcestershire in 2107, when the latter struggled with stress fractures. Ashwin said he sees plenty of potential in England's bowling department but warned that the batting unit needs to play sensibly.

"I remember when I played county cricket in 2017 in Worcestershire, Josh Tongue had stress fracture issues. He is able to produce those wicket-taking balls. Brydon Carse is a bit of an enforcer. If they are able to hold their lines for longer periods of time, they can create a good team. Also, the batting must have a bit of a thought. England can’t get themselves ahead and leave the game behind," he said. "For instance, how Harry Brook bottled the game against India. In Perth, there was a small passage of play. They go for that brute force without any thought process. England have an upside if they can correct their bowling. They need to start producing a spinner from somewhere to hold an end up," he added.

Although the Englishmen won their first Test in Australia since 2010, they had a chance to win in the previous three Tests too. However, reckless batting and the failure to seize key moments cost England to find themselves 0-3 after the first three Tests.

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"That Test match did so much good for him" - England captain on Josh Tongue

Josh Tongue. (Image Credits: Getty)

Following the fourth Test, England skipper Ben Stokes opined that the final Test of the summer against Team India at The Oval did plenty of good for Tongue, who was able to increase his bowling workload. Citing his release point as a massive strength, Stokes said, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo:

"He's had his injuries and when you do have injuries, you do tend to lean on the side of caution, but I think that Test match did so much good for him knowing that he can bowl long spells and then he can come back and back that up, and he's reaped the rewards since he's been given the opportunity out here." "He's got those natural attributes - in particular to right-handers - with his release point and how he constantly makes right-handers feel like they need to play the ball. He's just got that natural wicket-taking ability that is so hard to come by," Stokes added.

The fifth and final Ashes Test begins on January 4.

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Edited by Parag Jain