A version of this article was first published on May 31, 2023
In the end all he needed was some botox. And for Josh Tongu, 15 months of pain, of sleepless nights, of not being able to get a cup of tea, are gone.
There were a pair of failed shoulder surgeries and another, involving the removal of a rib, came up.
There were experts after experts and then, finally, The specific. He suggested a cosmetic injection could relieve pressure on the nerve in Tongue’s shoulder and allow him to reload, ball in hand.
And now, weeks after making his Test debut against Ireland, Tongue is hours away from making his Ashes debut.
It’s been a whirlwind few months for Tongue, which started when he answered a dawn call from a New Zealand number he didn’t recognise.
According to Phil Weston, Tongue’s agent, hearing Brendon McCullum on the other end of the phone “took his breath away”. He couldn’t believe it. But it was real.
And after just two training sessions, McCullum ruled Tongue Test-ready, naming him in the starting XI to face Ireland – he would take five wickets in the second innings to seal an England win.
Language’s tale of resilience
It could have been so very different. Several times over the past 18 months Tongue has seriously considered walking away from the game he loves. For 434 nights from June 2021 to August 2022, Tongue was a spectator. Daily tasks had become a struggle, especially in the winter. The cold made his problems worse, these were a numbness in the hand and regular pins and needles.
“Josh was at a very, very low ebb,” explains Weston. “I remember sitting with him in a cafe in early 2022. We were talking about what was next outside of cricket. It seemed like a very real scenario. He was very, very upset.”
Talks have even taken place with the Professional Cricket Association, who provide invaluable support.
But then, finally, some relief came. Tongwu had already made the decision to fight. According to Weston, “he wanted to know how far he could go.” However, before going under the knife, a third shoulder specialist — David Murray — made the left-field Botox suggestion. The language went with him and within two months he was back bowling.
His comeback came in a 50-over match against Essex. Tongug bowled eight overs, took 2-41 and never looked back. Although he made just five appearances for Worcestershire in 2022, he was part of the Lions squad over the winter, taking eight wickets in one match against Sri Lanka A.
“To see his shoulders go back and his chest go out after that did wonders,” explains Worcestershire manager Alan Richardson. “I wouldn’t want anyone to have to go through what he had to go through. He had to dig really deep. It’s the love of the game that he has. He’s a real inspiration to kids.”
Tongue has since had a second Botox injection, but in the name of prevention rather than treatment. She should see him all summer, but then they might become regulars.
“There was a lot to work on”
“He was one of those you could always spend on good things,” explains Gavin Haines, father of Worcestershire midfielder Jack, but more specifically head of the county’s Emerging Players Program during Tongue’s pre-Tongue days. Academy.
“He always played in the age groups. We tried to manage it so that he played in the right games for him, at least one if not two age groups sometimes.”
Indeed, Tongue played for Worcestershire under-10s aged just six.
“We just worked on getting a good base strong action,” Haynes said. “There was a lot there for me to work on. It doesn’t always work out for people, but for him you could see he had the potential to go very far very early on.”
“An unerring ability to be quite accurate”
The foundation of language is rhythm. There’s something about an Ashes series that makes a few extra clicks even more desirable. The likes of Brydon Carse and Jamie Overton, but for injury, would have been in contention to face Australia. And it is perhaps Tongue’s extra zip that has seen him edge past Sam Cook and Craig Overton, two of the outstanding County Championship athletes of recent years.
“At his best he’s quite ‘easy pace’ and by that I mean he doesn’t have to try too hard to get it when he’s in really good form,” explains Richardson, who took 644 professional wickets during his career.
“He manages to bowl very quickly without having to try as hard. He doesn’t have to charge all the way. Of course, he would be a bit like Ollie Robinson in terms of the very short delivery pace, and that has been lengthened a bit as he has developed.”
Indeed, it was a metatarsal injury in 2018 that forced Tongue to rethink: “He used to be a little aggressive on the toes, but now he’s a little flatter. That’s created slightly different shapes for him and he’s had to work quite hard technically. He does a lot of alignment work and that helped him develop more pace.”
But speed alone does not earn him 162 first-class wickets at a paltry figure of over 26 each, nor an England debut.
“He has an unerring ability to be pretty accurate even if he doesn’t feel great or if, technically, he’s not in such a good spot,” Richardson continues.
“He bowls a bit beyond the vertical – a bit like Ben Stokes – so he always looks like a batsman coming in. But at his best, Josh makes it rise, swing and attack at both ends . When he does that, and he does it well, he’s an absolute handful.”
