Worcestershire seamer Josh Tongue on Thursday made his England Test debut against Ireland at the Lord's and helped earn a whopping 50,000 pounds to a family friend -- Tim Piper -- who placed an unlikely bet 14 years ago.

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Tongue was drafted into England's squad as injury cover for James Anderson and Ollie Robinson, having impressed for the England Lions when they toured Sri Lanka last weekend.

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The 25-year-old was a surprise pick for the Ireland Test, having been selected ahead of veteran Chris Woakes.

Piper, who played cricket with Tongue's father Phil at their local club Redditch, is set for a huge payout after placing 100 pounds on him to play Test cricket for England when he was just 11 at odds of 500-1.

"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.

Piper first saw Tongue in action when he joined his father at Redditch Cricket Club as a child, but it was not as a seamer that he impressed Piper.

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"It was amazing. There was this little kid who bowled leg-spin, googlies and top-spinners. It was like Shane Warne," he added.

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