Josh Tongue is hopeful of being the latest paceman to excel under the watchful eye of fast bowling whisperer Troy Cooley.
Tongue was one of very few England players to emerge with credit following the 4-1 defeat in the Ashes, where he was overlooked for the first two Tests but collected 18 wickets in the last three.
His pace and fuller lengths from an awkward angle caused havoc and, while he is still occasionally wayward, Tongue is optimistic of advancing his game under Cooley, England’s Ashes 2005 fast bowling coach.
Cooley has also worked to develop Australia’s vaunted trio of quicks and more recently with Jasprit Bumrah at India, and in January the 60-year-old was announced as England’s national pace bowling lead.
Tongue said: “He’s coached the likes of (Mitchell) Starc, (Josh) Hazlewood, (Pat) Cummins and he was part of India as well.
“I had a little chat with him on the phone the other day, I feel like we’re going to get on really well and he’s going to help me get even better than where I am now.”
Cooley’s brief is not limited to just the senior team and he will work with the Lions and Young Lions, while England will still occasionally bring in other fast bowling coaches on an ad-hoc basis.
It is a revolving door policy they have had since 2022, with James Anderson, Tim Southee and David Saker taking temporary roles, but Australian Cooley already looks to have made an early impression on Tongue.
“There was a bit of humour in the phone call which was quite funny,” Tongue said. “His first line was ‘I’m in Aussie, do you accept the rate (to reverse the charges)?’ And I was like ‘yeah, I accept the rate’.
“Then we had a little chat about the winter and moving forward.”
Tongue’s performances in Australia have almost certainly made him an automatic selection for England this summer but the 28-year-old insisted he is fully focused on the early season with Nottinghamshire.
Speaking at the club’s media day, he said: “I just try and think game by game. I want to start well for Notts which is going to put me in good stead for the rest of the season. I’m a very chilled guy if someone says I’m not playing, I take it fine.”
Despite a review into the Ashes debacle, England head coach Brendon McCullum has been spared the axe, which is music to the ears of Tongue, who said: “I’ve got a lot of good things to say about Baz.”
While England were soundly beaten, Tongue reflected with some satisfaction on his own experience of Australia, against whom he has taken 23 wickets in four Tests with an outstanding average of 22.3.
He was awarded player of the match in England’s lone success at the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne and enjoyed some success against Steve Smith, who he has dismissed four times in three matches.
“I’ve always wanted to go away on an Ashes (tour) Down Under and to be there for the Boxing Day Test and the New Year’s Test in Sydney as well, it’s what dreams are really made of,” he added.
“Doing well at the MCG was the icing on the cake. I want to bring those moments more. I want to try and make an impact when I play games for England and try and put us in good positions to win games of cricket.”
