A toe injury has ended Josh Tongue‘s involvement in England’s tour of Australia, ruling the seamer out of all three ODIs before the series even begins. The problem centres on his big left toe, a niggle he had been carrying since the Pakistan tour, and he will now fly back to the United Kingdom for a full medical assessment. England confirmed the news on November 7, with the series opener set for Perth on November 13.
Tongue had been selected exclusively for the ODI leg of the trip, having sat out the T20I fixtures as a precaution. England confirmed on the same day that no replacement would be called into the squad, indicating that the management is satisfied the existing group has sufficient depth to cover his absence. White-ball head coach Brendon McCullum and red-ball counterpart Stephen Fleming are both travelling with the touring party.
The setback arrives at a significant moment for a bowler who made both his ODI and T20I international debuts in 2026 and has cemented himself as a regular figure in England’s Test XI over the past 12 months.
How did Tongue perform in the lead-up to this tour?
Tongue’s white-ball opportunities this year were built on a strong red-ball foundation. In three Tests against Pakistan, he claimed 19 wickets, establishing himself as a potent new-ball threat in the longer format. That form earned him a place in England’s ODI plans for the Australia assignment.
At the 50-over level, he played two ODIs at home against Sri Lanka earlier in 2026 before featuring in one match during the ODI tri-series in Pakistan. At Rawalpindi, he returned figures of 3 for 79 in the game where Sri Lanka chased down England’s total of 429, one of the more extraordinary run-chases seen in recent years. It was during that Pakistan tri-series that the toe problem is understood to have first developed.
What does Tongue’s absence mean for England’s seam attack?
Without Tongue, England’s pace bowling group will need to absorb his workload across three matches against a formidable Australian side. The squad includes Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Sonny Baker, Jamie Overton and Henry Crocombe as seam options, giving McCullum a reasonable spread of pace resources to work with.
England’s decision not to call up a replacement underlines the management’s confidence in the existing squad depth. The three-match series begins in Perth on November 13, and the composition of the attack will be watched closely once the XI is confirmed for the opener.
England full squad for Australia ODI series
Harry Brook (c), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Sonny Baker, Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Jordan Cox, Henry Crocombe, Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Joe Root
