Josh Tongue ruled out of England's white-ball tour of Australia
England fast bowler Josh Tongue has been ruled out of the white-ball tour of Australia because of a toe injury. The news came as England were winning a warm-up match in Perth, and it removes a seamer who has been one of their most consistent wicket-takers this year.
BBC Sport reports that Tongue picked up the injury in Pakistan last month. He missed the final two matches of the three-team tri-series there because of it. He will now return to the UK for further assessment.
"White-ball" cricket is the shorter form played with a white ball, which covers one-day internationals (50 overs each side) and Twenty20s (20 overs each side). England's tour of Australia includes both. The first one-day match is in Perth on 13 November.
Tongue has taken 46 wickets in 17 matches this year, according to the BBC. He is expected to be fit for England's three-Test series in South Africa in December, although that has not been confirmed by the team.
Tongue was not the only fast bowler kept out of the early part of the tour. England had already rested Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson and Tongue for the Twenty20 games in Australia, a decision announced in October. Sonny Baker was also left out of that squad as England managed their pace bowlers. Archer and Jacob Bethell were named back in the wider touring group.
In the warm-up, England beat Western Australia by 92 runs. England made 251 and were bowled out in 48 overs. Ben Duckett top-scored with 49, and Liam Dawson finished unbeaten on 44.
The bowling did most of the work. Adil Rashid took 4-35, and cricket.com.au lists Jofra Archer with 3-34. Western Australia were dismissed for 159. Rashid dismissed Jayden Goodwin and Ashton Turner in successive deliveries, which is a useful moment for a spinner.
Rashid's return matters for a different reason too. He was left out of the final three matches of England's October tour of Pakistan and Sri Lanka, so this warm-up was a strong answer from him.
For casual fans, the shape of this is simple. England have a group of quicks and spinners available, and Tongue's absence leaves a gap in the seam attack for the early part of the tour. The Perth performance suggests the rest of the squad can cover for it, at least for now.
England also have a three-day warm-up match planned for 9 to 11 December, which will give the squad more time to prepare before the Test series in South Africa. Tongue's assessment in the UK will decide how close he is to that return.
