England fast bowler Josh Tongue has been ruled out of the white-ball tour of Australia with a toe injury. On the same day in Perth, Adil Rashid took 4-35 as England beat Western Australia by 92 runs in their only warm-up match before the one-day series starts.
The 28-year-old hurt his toe during last month’s one-day tri-series in Pakistan and missed England’s last two games there. He sat out Saturday’s warm-up and will now fly home so the injury to the big toe on his left foot can be assessed further.
“Josh Tongue has been ruled out of England Men’s white-ball tour of Australia due to a toe injury,” England Cricket said in a statement on X. “He will return to the UK to undergo further assessment.”
A blow to England’s all-format pace plans
England have not named a replacement. Jamie Overton is already in the one-day squad, so they have seam cover for the three matches, which start in Perth on Friday, 13 November. The series then moves to Adelaide on 15 November and Hobart on 18 November. Five T20 internationals follow, ending in Canberra on 2 December.
Losing Tongue still matters. Only a year ago he was mainly a Test bowler. He took 18 wickets on the 2025-26 Ashes tour of Australia and has 46 wickets in 17 matches across 2026. He made his ODI debut this year against India at Edgbaston, taking 1-50 from 10 overs, and has since been picked four more times in the format. His last appearance was against Sri Lanka in the tri-series, where he bowled the final over and finished with 3-79 from 8.5 overs.
He had become part of the group of quicks Brendon McCullum wants to use in all formats, alongside Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson and Sonny Baker. The head coach is building an ODI side for the 2027 World Cup in South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe, and every one-day series before then is a chance to look at players.
England expect Tongue to be fit for the three-Test series in South Africa in December. That squad is due to be named next week.
Rashid makes his case in Perth
For England, the warm-up’s main positive was Rashid. The 38-year-old played in the opening tri-series defeat by Pakistan in Rawalpindi, then lost his place to left-arm spinner Liam Dawson for the rest of the tour. Dawson took seven wickets in three games at an average of 21.42, including 4-49 against Sri Lanka.
McCullum said the selection was about conditions. “We will always do what we think is right for the conditions and the opposition we are playing against,” he said at the end of the tri-series. “Dawson is a highly-competitive player who has put his hand up.”
Perth gave Rashid conditions that suited him better. Western Australia were 60-1 chasing 252 when he removed Jayden Goodwin and Ashton Turner with successive deliveries, and the innings fell apart from there. Rashid finished with 4-35 from 7.3 overs. Archer, who is managing his workload for the series, took 3-34 from eight overs and bowled out the tail as the hosts were dismissed for 159. Corey Wasley top-scored for Western Australia with 41 and Cameron Bancroft made 32.
England’s batting was less convincing. After winning the toss they were 150-6 in the 29th over when Sam Curran fell for 12, and they were bowled out for 251 in 48 overs. Ben Duckett top-scored for the second time in a week, after a career-best 167 in the final tri-series game in Lahore. Dawson scored an unbeaten 44 down the order, Will Jacks made 34 and captain Harry Brook 27. Brody Couch took 4-47 and Lance Morris 3-29 for Western Australia.
What it means for the series
England come to Australia still looking for some consistency. They did not reach the tri-series final after defeats by Pakistan in Rawalpindi, by Sri Lanka, who chased down England’s 429 with one ball left, and by Pakistan again after reducing them to 154-9. The 55-run win over Sri Lanka on 29 October was their only victory of the tournament.
This is England’s first visit to Australia since the Ashes, and they are still without key players. Jos Buttler is recovering from hamstring surgery. Jacob Bethell is in the squad but was not picked in Perth because he is working back from a knee injury that has kept him out since July.
Archer, Atkinson, Baker, Overton, Curran and the uncapped Henry Crocombe are the seam options left. Without Tongue, England will rely more heavily on Archer, who has a long injury history and needs careful management.
The main selection question before Perth is spin. Rashid, England’s second-highest ODI wicket-taker behind James Anderson, has shown he still takes wickets, and the bigger Australian grounds tend to suit wrist spin more than the slow pitches in Pakistan did. McCullum now has to decide whether to bring back his senior leg-spinner or stay with Dawson, who has been in form with both bat and ball.
Sports journalist and editor at SportsPortal.net. Covers cricket, football, Formula 1, tennis, and basketball with a focus on how global sports connect with Pakistani audiences. Follows the PSL, Pakistan national cricket team, Premier League, and major international tournaments. Has reported on sports for digital audiences since 2021.
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