Josh Tongue says straight-talking England captain Joe Root has left his players in no doubt about the standards of behaviour he expects as they look to shore up their image.
Root cut a disgruntled figure on Tuesday as he dealt with the fallout from the latest alcohol-related incident to affect the team, describing himself as “hacked off” by the episode that saw seamer Brydon Carse briefly arrested outside a Derby nightspot on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly.
He was axed from the squad pending the outcome of an investigation by the Cricket Regulaor, leading Root to hold a ‘robust’ conversation with the squad ahead of Thursday’s second Rothesay Test against Pakistan, setting out his stall having returned as skipper just a couple of weeks ago.
And Tongue admits the message has been heard loud and clear after a 10-month period that has been punctuated by unwanted headlines about off-field conduct.
“We had a chat before training yesterday as Joe said. It was a very good conversation and he made it clear what he expects from us,” he said.
“He’s been around the England dressing room for plenty of years now, he knows what it takes to be the top professional and I think we’ve just got to do the best we can moving forward.
“I think we’ve just got to make sure we’re as professional as we can be. Obviously things have happened and we need to try and move on from them to show all the youngsters growing up wanting to play for England that it’s an amazing place to be.
“Playing for England is obviously a privilege. We want to give the next generation the best place that they can be really.”
Tongue is one of eight centrally contracted players who have been involved in or present at late night incidents in recent times.
He was out with white-ball captain Harry Brook and Jacob Bethell in Wellington when the former was hit by a bouncer the day before an ODI, though the Cricket Regulator found Tongue had no case to answer as he was not in the matchday squad.
In the intervening time the 28-year-old has become one of the team’s most reliable performers, making a positive impact on an otherwise torrid Ashes campaign and establishing himself a first choice across all three formats this summer.
“I just tried to move on from that (Wellington) situation really and focus on the cricket. It’s an absolute privilege to play for England, especially walking out and thousands of people watching you,” he said.
“Things have been happening off the field but I’ve been personally trying to sort of forget about it and try and play as best cricket as I can for England and try to put England in best positions to win games of cricket. That’s why we’re here and that’s what we want to do for the fans.”
England have not won a multi-match Test series since New Zealand in December 2024, drawing at home to India, losing 4-1 in Australia and then losing to the Kiwis in what turned out to be the last gasp of the Bazball era under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum.
As a result, Tongue has a major gap on his CV, despite a personal record that boasts 65 wickets in just 13 Tests at an average of 27.38. The next five days at Lord’s offer a huge chance to put that right against a touring team that was bested across every discipline at Headingley last week.
“Yeah, it’d be amazing to win a series,” said Tongue.
“Obviously it would be my first one in the red ball stuff. We’ve just got to focus, make sure we play our best cricket just be nice and relaxed out there and hopefully we get over the line.”