Tongue ruled out of Australia tour as Rashid stars in warm-up

England fast bowler Josh Tongue is ruled out of the upcoming white-ball tour of Australia with a toe injury. Tongue recorded 18 wickets in the 2025-26 Ashes series in Australia England fast bowler Josh Tongue has been ruled out of the upcoming white-ball tour of Australia with a toe injury. The 28-year-old suffered the injury in Pakistan last month and didn't take part in the final two games of that tri-series. He will now return to the UK for further assessment and miss the one-day and T20 matches in Australia, which start with an ODI in Perth on 13 November. Tongue, who has taken 46 wickets in 17 matches this year, is likely to be back for the three-match Test series in South Africa in December, with the squad set to be named next week.

The white-ball tour of Australia will mark the first time England have played down under since the 2025-26 Ashes demolition. Coach Brendon McCullum had previously said he wanted a strong team for the ODI leg of the trip to Australia in the build-up to the World Cup in southern Africa next year. The New Zealander also conceded he would have to rotate his squad for the T20 leg, given England's schedule in a busy winter of five separate overseas tours. Adil Rashid took four wickets