Josh Tongue says he is determined to return to performing on a consistent basis for Worcestershire and said, “This was just the start of it” after his impressive second innings display against Gloucestershire.
Tongue finished day three with figures of 14-2-37-3 during the LV=Insurance County Championship encounter at New Road.
He claimed all three wickets to fall and bowled with pace and aggression as Gloucestershire closed a shortened day on 172-3 – an overall advantage of 246.
It was his best analysis for Worcestershire since returning from a shoulder problem at the tail-end of last season.
Tongue, who is initially being used on a game-on, game-off basis, said: “I want to get that consistency back into my spells, and I thought today was just the start of it.
“Was I back into a rhythm? Yes, it felt a lot better. The first day I didn’t feel myself but I had a few chats with Alan Richardson (Head Coach) and a couple of the bowlers and felt good today.
“I’m a pretty chilled guy and just keeping to the basics and just enjoying my cricket; that’s when I’m at my best.
“I didn’t bowl as well as I wanted to at Derby. I knew that myself. I didn’t need anyone telling me.
“It took me a while to get used to bowling again. I’d been out with my shoulder problem for a while.
“Having that game off at Durham and just doing a bit of technical stuff with Richo really helped.
“It is a nice thing, that rotation, and I can just check in with all my technical stuff as well and not just performance-based, which I think will be key to me moving on this season.
“I want to be on the park as long as I can and perform for Worcestershire as much as I can as well.”
Regarding events on day three against Gloucestershire, Tongue said: “The pitch had a bit of pace in it and, if you hit a good line and length, you got a bit out of the pitch.
“They got off to a good start in the second innings, and there were a couple of dropped catches, but as a bowling unit, we stuck together and got our rewards towards the end.
“I think they will try and set up a game. That is how the game is going at the minute. There is a bit of rain about, and it will be interesting to see how they play tomorrow morning.
“You never know. Get a few wickets tomorrow morning and then chase the runs down. We bat down to eleven, and I feel we can chase anything as a batting unit.”
