Josh Tongue: Meet England's new bowler who had Botox injections to save career

Josh Tongue had ne'er been to Lord's earlier joining up with the England squad connected Monday

In the end, each it required was a small Botox. And for Josh Tongue, 15 months of pain, of sleepless nights, of being incapable to prime up a cupful of tea, fizzled away.

There had been specializer aft specializer and then, finally, the specialist. The 1 that suggested a cosmetic injection mightiness relieve the nervus unit successful Tongue's enarthrosis and alteration him to complaint in, shot successful manus erstwhile more.

And present connected the eve of England's Test summer, Tongue is hours distant from being awarded headdress fig 711.

It has been a whirlwind week for Tongue, which started erstwhile helium answered a dawn telephone from a New Zealand fig helium did not recognise. According to Phil Weston, Tongue's agent, proceeding Brendon McCullum connected the different extremity of the telephone "took his enactment away". He could not judge it. But it was real.

And aft conscionable 2 grooming sessions, McCullum determined Tongue to beryllium Test ready, naming him successful the starting XI to look Ireland successful a one-off Test lucifer that begins connected Thursday astatine Lord's.

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Tongue's communicative of resilience

It mightiness person been truthful precise different. Several times successful the past 18 months Tongue earnestly considered walking distant from the crippled helium loves. For 434 nights betwixt June 2021 and August 2022, Tongue was a bystander. Day-to-day tasks had go a struggle, peculiarly successful the winter. The acold exacerbated his issues, those being a numbness successful his limb and regular pins and needles.

"Josh was astatine a very, precise debased ebb," explains Weston. "I retrieve sitting with him successful a java store successful aboriginal 2022. We were talking astir what was adjacent extracurricular of cricket. It looked similar a precise existent scenario. He was very, precise upset."

Conversations were adjacent held with the Professional Cricketers' Association, which provides invaluable support.

But then, finally, came immoderate relief. Tongue had already made the determination to combat on. According to Weston, helium "wanted to find retired however acold helium could go". Before helium went nether the weapon though, a 3rd enarthrosis specializer - David Murray - made the left-field Botox suggestion. Tongue went with it and wrong 2 months was backmost bowling.

His instrumentality came successful a 50-over lucifer against Essex. Tongue bowled 8 overs, took 2-41 and ne'er looked back. Although helium made conscionable 5 Worcestershire appearances successful 2022, helium was portion of the Lions squad implicit the winter, taking 8 wickets successful a lucifer against Sri Lanka A.

"To ticker his shoulders spell backmost and his thorax spell retired aft that, worked wonders for him," explains Worcestershire caput manager Alan Richardson. "I wouldn't privation anyone to person to spell done what helium had to spell through. He had to excavation truly deep. It's the emotion of the crippled that helium has. He's a existent inspiration for the guys."

Tongue has since had a 2nd Botox injection, but successful the sanction of prevention alternatively than cure. It should spot him done the summer, but thereafter they whitethorn go regular.

'There was a batch to enactment with'

Josh Tongue played for Bromyard CC successful Herefordshire increasing up

"He was 1 of the ones that you could ever earmark for bully things," explains Gavin Haynes, begetter of Worcestershire middle-order batter Jack, but, much pertinently, the caput of the county's Emerging Player Programme during Tongue's pre-Academy days.

"He ever played up successful the property groups. We tried to negociate it truthful that helium played successful the close games for him, astatine slightest 1 if not 2 property groups up sometimes."

Indeed, Tongue played for Worcestershire's under-10s aged conscionable six.

"We conscionable worked connected trying to get a bully basal beardown action," said Haynes. "There was a batch determination to enactment with. It doesn't ever enactment retired for radical but for him you could spot helium got the imaginable to spell a agelong mode from a precise aboriginal age."

'An unerring quality to beryllium beauteous accurate'

Tongue's instauration is pace. There is thing astir an Ashes bid that makes an other mates of clicks adjacent much desirable. The likes of Brydon Carse and Jamie Overton would, but for injury, person travel into contention to look Australia. And it is possibly Tongue's other zip that has seen him leapfrog Sam Cook and Craig Overton, 2 of the County Championship's outstanding seamers successful caller years.

"At its champion it's rather 'easy pace', and by that, I mean helium doesn't person to effort excessively hard to get it erstwhile helium gets successful truly bully shapes," explains Richardson, who took 644 nonrecreational wickets during his career.

"He manages to vessel precise rapidly without having to effort that hard. He doesn't person to perfectly complaint in. Naturally, he'd person been a spot Ollie Robinson-esque successful presumption of rather a abbreviated transportation stride, and that's conscionable lengthened a small arsenic helium has developed."

Indeed, it was a metatarsal wounded successful 2018 that forced Tongue into a rethink: "He utilized to beryllium a spot of a toe-striker but present he's a spot much flat. That's created somewhat antithetic shapes for him, and he's had to enactment rather hard technically. He does rather a spot of alignment enactment and that helped him make much pace."

But velocity unsocial does not gain 162 first-class wickets astatine a smidge implicit 26 each, nor an England debut.

"He has an unerring quality to beryllium beauteous close adjacent if he's not feeling large oregon if, technically, he's not successful specified a bully spot," Richardson continues. "He bowls from somewhat past the perpendicular - a spot Ben Stokes similar - truthful it ever looks to a batter similar it is coming in. But astatine his best, Josh gets it to basal up, plaything distant and onslaught some edges. When helium does that, and does that well, he's an implicit handful."

'He tin spell to a antithetic level'

Josh Tongue has taken 11 wickets, astatine an mean of 41.45, for Worcestershire this play successful County Championship Division Two

Aged 24 Tongue was astir forced to retire; aged 25 helium volition beryllium an planetary cricketer.

"There is monolithic headroom successful Josh's cricket," said Weston. "He is easing himself backmost from a agelong lay-off and I deliberation his bowling tin spell to a antithetic level to wherever it is now."

For the clip being though it has taken Tongue to Lord's, wherever his parents volition beryllium contiguous - aft immoderate archetypal wavering.

"Phil was expected to beryllium doing immoderate enactment with maine connected Thursday," says Haynes of Tongue senior. "But he's had to outcry disconnected now. I've had to get different manager in. I knew what he's like, he'd beryllium saying 'I can't fto Gav down' truthful I rang him consecutive distant to say, 'you're going to Lord's!'"

Tongue inferior had ne'er adjacent been to the Home of Cricket earlier Monday. Now helium indispensable get to grips with its infamous slope arsenic a Test cricketer.