Tim Piper placed a bet on Josh Tongue 14 years ago that the youngster would play for England.
Josh Tongue on Day 1 of England vs Ireland Test match. Reuters
Josh Tongue’s England debut in the Lord’s Test against Ireland on Thursday has helped a punter become rich by £50,000.
Tim Piper, a family friend, had placed a £100 bet on Tongue at odds of 500-1 14 years ago that the youngster will play for England one day. His prediction came true on Thursday as pacer Josh got his first international cap on Thursday from James Anderson.
“I’ve kept the bet slip in a cupboard all these years. I just thought to myself ‘it must be worth £100’. If he doesn’t make it, he’d make us proud anyway. This is just a bonus for him to get in the Test team,” Piper told BBC Sport.
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Piper knows Tongue through the cricketer’s father Phil. Piper and Phil played together at Redditch Cricket Club in the 1990s. It is at the club that Piper spotted Tongues’ talent.
“It was amazing,” said Piper. “There was this little kid who bowled leg-spin, googlies and top-spinners. It was like Shane Warne.”
Tongue however would later go on to become a pacer.
Piper wanted to place the bet when Tongue was 6 but he could not find a bookmaker and eventually made the bet when Josh was 11.
The Redditch punter who runs a pub in his town now plans to travel to Lord’s and also take the Tongue family out on a dinner.
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