Josh Tongue made his Test debut for England against Ireland in one-off Test on June 1 at Lord's London. While Tongue realised his dream to play for England, his family friend won 50,000 pounds (63,000 dollars) in a 100-pound bet at odds of 500-1 he placed 14 years ago.
The lucky man is Tim Piper, Tongue’s father Phil’s club cricket teammate. When Piper saw an 11-year-old Josh bowl leg-spin and believed that he was destined for big things. Nearly a decade and a half late, it turned out to be a rollercoaster two weeks for Phil as Tongue earned his maiden Test call-up.
Stroke of luck coupled with belief
"I've kept the bet slip in a cupboard all these years," Piper told BBC Sport.
"I just thought to myself, 'it must be worth 100 pounds'. 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.”
"There was this little kid who bowled leg-spin, googlies and top-spinners. It was like Shane Warne," Piper added.
However, it did not happen like he had expected to. The teenager who bowled leg spin switched to fast bowling when he moved to the Worcestershire academy. Piper was still keeping tabs on the youngster who bagged 162 wickets from 47 First-Class appearances since he made his First-Class debut in April 2016.
Injury almost made Tongue retire
However, there was a time when he was ready to leave cricket as a career option. A shoulder injury sidelined Tongue for 15 months. It took two operations and botox injections to get him ready to bowl again. But his earliest fan, Piper still believed that he can make it to the international level despite missing out on 2021-22 season.
"He had all those injuries, but I never gave up on him," Piper further added. “I kept thinking, 'maybe it can happen'. These last two weeks have been a mad turnaround.”
Injury concerns to James Anderson and Ollie Robinson paved the way for Tongue's Test debut. On June 1, he got his Test cap from legendary English pacer Anderson who has prioritised Test cricket and excelled at it with 685 wickets to his name.
Tongue's story similar to Hazlewood
Australia's premier fast bowler Josh Hazlewood had a similar story. Hazlewood's father Trevor's friends had placed a hundred dollar-bet with British bookmakers in early 2000s. When Hazlewood made his Test debut against India at the Gabba in 2014, his father's friends were rewarded for it.
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