Uncapped Josh Tongue joins England Test squad to face Ireland

Josh Tongue wondered if early retirement was calling following a rare shoulder injury that left him unable to feel his entire right arm. But now the Worcestershire seamer has been handed his first call-up by England for the one-off Test against Ireland next week.

Tongue, 25, has already been in the headlines this summer, becoming the first bowler to dismiss Steve Smith during the Australian’s pre-Ashes warm-up stint at Sussex. Though a borderline lbw decision, the spell still underlined the right-armer’s promise.

With Jimmy Anderson (groin strain) and Ollie Robinson (ankle soreness) unlikely to be risked in the four-day Test against Ireland that starts at Lord’s on 1 June, Tongue has now been added to the set-up and will compete with Chris Woakes, Matthew Potts and Stuart Broad for a spot in the final XI.

A product of the pathway at New Road, having started out with Worcestershire’s Under-13s back in 2010, Tongue bowls at an awkward pace and boasts 162 wickets at an average of 26 from his 47 first-class matches to date.

The newcomer is currently on the comeback trail from a side-strain but, amid an injury crisis that has seen Jofra Archer, Ollie Stone, Jamie Overton, Brydon Carse all ruled out, and with Mark Wood possibly on paternity leave, he should be passed fit in the coming days.

That niggle pales into insignificance compared to the challenges Tongue has overcome in his nascent career, having missed 15 months of first team cricket for Worcestershire between 2021 and 2022 due to a nerve problem in his right shoulder. It required two operations which, despite suggestions the injury may be career-ending, ultimately worked.

Speaking after the match against Sussex at New Road earlier this month, and still buzzing from