Two-day gap between Hundred final and Pakistan Test is crazy, says Tongue

England fast bowler Josh Tongue has called this summer's schedule "crazy" with just two days between the end of the Hundred and the first Test match against Pakistan.

Tongue, fellow fast bowler Gus Atkinson and Ben Duckett will all play in Sunday night's final at Lord's between Manchester Super Giants and Trent Rockets before heading north to Headingley the following day.

Advertisement

The series opener against Pakistan begins on Wednesday morning and all three of Tongue, Atkinson and Duckett are expected to play.

"It's crazy scheduling, obviously," Tongue said. "That's part and parcel of being a cricketer, making sure you recover well; doing all the stuff behind the scenes which no one sees and putting yourself in a good position to then change formats."

The three Tests against Pakistan will be the first series back under the leadership of captain Joe Root and without Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum.

But there are growing concerns for England's fast bowlers in particular, who will have to transition from a workload of no more than 20 balls a match to long spells.

Advertisement

Southern Brave, Jofra Archer's side, failed to qualify from the group stage and he was rested from their final match of the competition, giving him just over a week to prepare.

But Tongue and Atkinson will have little, if any, time to train in Leeds before the match, leaving potentially half of England's attack undercooked.

England's series against Pakistan is beginning so late in the summer because the Hundred has been given a prime slot during the summer holidays. This has also eaten into preparation time and forced players to prepare for Test cricket while playing in the competition.

Advertisement

Tongue insisted he will be ready to play despite the sharp turnaround.

"The body's feeling good," Tongue added. "I've been recovering really well during the Hundred, obviously getting certain gym stuff in as well, and running, and it's those little top-ups that are going to keep me going. Obviously Test cricket's very demanding, but I'm ready if selected."

Last summer, England had a similar situation of a two-day gap before their ODI series against South Africa, where they were bowled out for just 131 in a humiliating defeat in the series opener.

On Friday, the England and Wales Cricket Board reiterated its commitment to making the Hundred an "unmissable event of the summer".

Advertisement

This year's tournament is the first since the Hundred moved from ECB control towards private ownership, which led to the sale of stakes in all eight teams, generating more than £500m to be reinvested into the domestic game.

"We have always talked about the core elements and the core DNA of the Hundred remaining. The objective of the Hundred being growth, being about throwing cricket's doors open, that remains," Vikram Banerjee, the competition's managing director, said.

"We now need to move to becoming an unmissable event of the summer and so each of the different teams will build on what they have done – whether that is shirt giveaways, whether that is Jude Bellingham or music acts such as Tinie Tempah.

"There has also been some great learning between the teams [on what has worked]. I can see that audience, that fandom and that tribalism really growing and deepening in 2027."

Advertisement

The 2027 tournament will start on August 3, the day after the Ashes finishes, which would mean a maximum of two days of Test cricket in August.

Click here to read article