Josh Tongue’s family friend hits jackpot for 14-year-old bet he put on cricketer | Cricket News – Times of India
NEW DELHI: Tim Piper, a family friend of Josh Tongue became richer by 50,000 pounds for a bet he placed on the cricketer 14 years ago. When Tongue was 11, Piper had predicted that the boy would go on to represent the country.
A pub landlord, Piper had taken a 500-1 odds that Josh would eventually play for England and when the right-arm quick made his debut against Ireland in the one-off Test, Piper hit the jackpot.
“It’s been amazing, absolutely wonderful,” Piper told Sen Radio on Friday.
“I never dreamt it would be this popular and people in the pub can see me talking to people in America, India, Australia, they’ve got friends messaging them saying, ‘what the hell happened in Redditch (a town south of Birmingham where Piper resides)’?”
Piper, who watched Josh from a young age and played backyard cricket with him, added he was happy to see the youngster get his Test cap from one of the all-time great bowlers Anderson.
“This (father Phil Tongue) is a friend of mine for 35 years, this (Josh) is his son and I see the work him and his wife have put in to chase this boy around England for the last 25 years. It’s wonderful for the family and they were on the pitch today (Thursday) when he got his cap presented by Jimmy Anderson.
“It’s just a fairytale,” added Piper.
Josh, originally started off as a leg spinner and played Under-11s when he was six, and Piper had the belief that the youngster would one day play for the country.
“On Tuesday night someone phoned me up and said he’s (Josh) playing. I was like, ‘you what’?” Piper said.
“I look at Sky Sport, BBC Sport, I saw that he was starting (against Ireland) so obviously ran upstairs, got the betting slip out of the cupboard, it’s been next to my passport for the last 14 years. I thought I bet to check this slip but I wrote it and read it correctly.
“It’s there and I thought oh my god. He knew I bet on him from a young age… it was known in Worcestershire cricket club a bet had been put on him.”
Piper is the landlord of the Cricketers Arms pub in Redditch and played with Phil Tongue in local tournaments in the 1990s.
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A pub landlord, Piper had taken a 500-1 odds that Josh would eventually play for England and when the right-arm quick made his debut against Ireland in the one-off Test, Piper hit the jackpot.
“It’s been amazing, absolutely wonderful,” Piper told Sen Radio on Friday.
“I never dreamt it would be this popular and people in the pub can see me talking to people in America, India, Australia, they’ve got friends messaging them saying, ‘what the hell happened in Redditch (a town south of Birmingham where Piper resides)’?”
Piper, who watched Josh from a young age and played backyard cricket with him, added he was happy to see the youngster get his Test cap from one of the all-time great bowlers Anderson.
“This (father Phil Tongue) is a friend of mine for 35 years, this (Josh) is his son and I see the work him and his wife have put in to chase this boy around England for the last 25 years. It’s wonderful for the family and they were on the pitch today (Thursday) when he got his cap presented by Jimmy Anderson.
“It’s just a fairytale,” added Piper.
Josh, originally started off as a leg spinner and played Under-11s when he was six, and Piper had the belief that the youngster would one day play for the country.
“On Tuesday night someone phoned me up and said he’s (Josh) playing. I was like, ‘you what’?” Piper said.
“I look at Sky Sport, BBC Sport, I saw that he was starting (against Ireland) so obviously ran upstairs, got the betting slip out of the cupboard, it’s been next to my passport for the last 14 years. I thought I bet to check this slip but I wrote it and read it correctly.
“It’s there and I thought oh my god. He knew I bet on him from a young age… it was known in Worcestershire cricket club a bet had been put on him.”
Piper is the landlord of the Cricketers Arms pub in Redditch and played with Phil Tongue in local tournaments in the 1990s.
“Even though it’s 50,000 pounds to me, a lovely amount, but I’m so happy for the family,” he added.
(With inputs from PTI)
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