England are “pretty chilled” about the daunting prospect of breaking a 123-year-old record at the Kia Oval, with Josh Tongue sensing a feeling of deja vu as the Rothesay Test series heads to a thrilling finale.
The highest-ever fourth-innings chase at the Kia Oval was 263 way back in 1902 and England need to shatter that if they are to reach the 374 they need to turn a 2-1 scoreline into a 3-1 triumph.
They were dealt a major blow when Zak Crawley lost his off stump to a Mohammed Siraj yorker off the final ball of the third day, leaving them 50 for one overnight with 324 runs still to get.
But Tongue insisted they were relaxed about the task, having posted 373 for five to win the first Test of the series in Yorkshire.
By coincidence, the Nottinghamshire seamer gave the press conference the night before that match and was optimistic about England’s chances.
Having seen his faith rewarded once, he was more than happy to double down.
“It’s a replay from Headingley. I got asked the same question then so I don’t see why we can’t chase down these runs,” he said.
“We’re pretty chilled about it. There’s not much overthinking it. How we play as a batting unit is very positive, very exciting. With the line-up we’ve got, I can’t see why we can’t give it a good go.
“It will be a great day of cricket and a great day for us if we get the runs. It is doing a bit, a few balls tonight jumped off a good length, but if you get through the first hour who knows?”
England theoretically have nine wickets in hand but may only have eight to play with, Chris Woakes’ dislocated shoulder meaning a remarkable set of circumstances would need to unfold for him to even consider attempting to bat.
Woakes’ absence meant the remaining seamers had to take on an extra burden, Tongue rewarded for 30 overs of toil with a second five-wicket haul in Tests.
That means he ends the series as his country’s leading wicket-taker with 19 at 29.05, despite sitting out games at Old Trafford and Lord’s.
“We knew we were going to be bowling quite a few overs out there and it was unfortunate for Wiz getting injured, nobody likes that happening to any bowler,” he said.
“It was obviously going to be a tough ask for us as bowlers and I thought we stuck at it very well. I’ve had a lot of ups and downs.
“Sometimes I feel I didn’t bowl as well as I could but I’m obviously very chuffed to get the wickets. The main thing is getting wickets for the team and putting us in position to win games of cricket.”
Yashasvi Jaiswal, who led his side’s efforts with a fine 118 that was augmented by crucial contributions from Akash Deep (66) and Washington Sundar (53), expected his side to level the series 2-2.
“Of course, I think we are quite confident,” he said.
“We just need to focus on our process and keep bowling in the right areas. That’s what we are thinking.
“We want this, we want some battle in the middle.”
