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One fortunate punter who believed 14 years in the past that Josh Tongue would someday play for England and positioned a cheeky wager will win £50,000 ($95,500) when the quick bowler makes his worldwide debut towards Eire.
Tim Piper had watched Tongue play when he was simply an 11-year-old and positioned a £100 wager at odds of 500-1 that he would play a Take a look at match for England sooner or later.
“I’ve saved the wager slip in a cabinet all these years,” Piper informed BBC Sport.
“I simply thought to myself, ‘it should be price 100 kilos’. If he doesn’t make it, he’d make us proud anyway. That is only a bonus for him to get within the Take a look at group.”
Tongue, the son of Piper’s membership teammate Phil, was a spinner on the time and the 56-year-old had seen sufficient to understand he was destined for excellent issues.
“There was this little child who bowled leg-spin, googlies and top-spinners. It was like Shane Warne,” Piper added.
Tongue, 25, switched to quick bowling when he moved to the Worcestershire academy and Piper mentioned he saved an eye fixed on the bowler, who went on to choose up 162 wickets in first-class cricket.
Tongue had, nonetheless, contemplated retirement throughout a 15-month shoulder-injury layoff from 2021-2022 earlier than two operations and botox injections mounted the problem.
He lastly earned his England call-up for this week’s one-off Take a look at towards Eire at Lord’s beginning on Thursday after harm issues over fellow quicks James Anderson and Ollie Robinson.
“He had all these accidents, however I by no means gave up on him,” Piper added.
“I saved considering, ‘possibly it will probably occur’. These final two weeks have been a mad turnaround.”
-Reuters