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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The 25-year-old was a surprise pick for the Ireland Test, having been selected ahead of veteran Chris Woakes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n