At the age of 24, Josh Tongue wasn't sure he would ever bowl again.
A serious nerve condition had ruled him out of cricket for 15 months. He had already undergone two failed shoulder operations, with a third scheduled involving the removal of a rib. He was in constant pain, struggling to sleep and at times unable to even pick up a cup of tea. Already, retirement was on his mind.
But that was when a specialist suggested Botox injections. The treatment worked, and Tongue was back bowling within two months. By the following winter he was already in the Lions’ squad against Sri Lanka, and took eight wickets in one of those games.
Four months later, he made his Test debut against Ireland at Lord’s. He took 5-66 in the second innings, before making his Ashes debut at the same venue a month later. But, just as he was finding his feet again, another spell on the sidelines followed. This time it was a pectoral injury, followed by a hamstring problem, which meant he had to miss the entire 2024 season.
He finally returned in early 2025, and played a crucial role in Nottinghamshire's County Championship title win, taking 31 wickets in just six games. The same year, he finished as the leading wicket-taker in The Hundred with 14 scalps for Manchester Originals.
Since then, when it comes to international cricket, he has gone to another level. Only Mitchell Starc has taken more wickets than him in the current World Test Championship cycle. He was England's leading wicket-taker in the 2025 Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, and took 18 wickets in the Ashes and was Player of the Match in England's only win of the series at the MCG. Most recently, he picked eight wickets against Pakistan at Leeds, as England handed the visitors an innings defeat.
Tongue has gone from trying to save his career to becoming one of England's most important fast bowlers in Test cricket.
While the raw numbers are impressive, Tongue's bowling style is what makes him particularly interesting. At 6ft 4in, he has a high release point, but it's his unusual arm angle that makes him particularly difficult to face. Tongue's bowling arm goes almost past the perpendicular at release, meaning the ball naturally angles into right-handers. That creates a problem for the batter. They are forced to play for the ball coming into them, but Tongue's ability to land the ball on the seam means it can then hold its line or move away instead.
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He can also exaggerate that angle by bowling from wider on the crease, while his high release allows him to extract steep bounce without having to constantly bowl short. And he does all of that at genuine pace, making an already awkward angle even harder to deal with. It is a combination that makes it difficult for batters to settle against Tongue, and gives England a fast bowler who can create chances without needing conditions to do all the work. That also makes him particularly valuable in an England attack that already has several different types of fast bowlers.
With two Tests still to come against Pakistan, Tongue has already given England plenty of reason to keep him at the heart of their attack. His eight-wicket haul at Headingley showed how effective his pace, bounce and unusual angle can be against Pakistan's batters, and England will now hope he can carry that threat into the remaining two Tests at Lord's and Edgbaston.
His prospects with white ball cricket look similarly promising, as last month, Tongue started off his T20I career with a four-wicket haul against India. The next 12 months could determine whether he can establish himself in the shorter formats as well, especially with the 2027 ODI World Cup around the corner. If he can stay fit and establish himself in the format, England could have an X-factor on their hands when they head to South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia next year.
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