England Fan Wins £50,000 Bet On Ashes Star He Placed 17 Years Ago

An England fan has won £50,000 during the Ashes - on a bet he placed 17 years ago.

England are currently 2-0 down in the 2025/26 Ashes after two Test matches, and are sliding towards a third consecutive defeat in the series in Adelaide.

There have been few positives to take from the tour so far, with significant criticism over decision-making with the bat and team selection.

In Adelaide, part-time spinner Will Jacks is leading England's spin attack, while Brydon Carse was given the new ball in Australia's first innings but went at nearly six runs an over across 18 overs.

Carse was criticised for bowling too short and too wide during his spells in the first innings.

His second innings dismissal of opening batter Jake Weatherald lbw, via a full delivery, showed that he is threatening when he pitches the ball in the right areas.

But fans questioned why Josh Tongue, on away Ashes debut, wasn't called upon to bowl out Australia's tail on the morning of day two.

The Aussies added 45 runs to make 371 before Jofra Archer took both remaining wickets - runs which could yet prove important (though, it seems, increasingly less likely) in deciding the outcome of the third Test.

Tongue missed out on the first two Tests despite being England's leading wicket-taker in the five-Test summer series against India.

He recorded figures of 1 for 64 in Australia's first innings across 16 overs, but got the crucial wickets of Marnus Labuschagne and Cameron Green on day three.

The Nottinghamshire pacer is a genuine strike bowler, whose unique bowling angle allows him to shape the ball away from the right hander and bring the outside edge into play.

Having battled serious injury problems earlier on in his career, the 28-year-old bounced back and is now an important member of England's attack.

Tongue was a prospective talent from a very young age - with one England fan becoming convinced he would play for England when he was just two years old.

Tim Piper, the best friend of Tongue's father, told Fox Cricket that he faced spin bowling from Tongue in the backyard.

Piper soon realised that Tongue had a number of variations despite being only two, and said he didn't have 'a clue' what the toddler was bowling.

Although bookmakers, perhaps unsurprisingly, wouldn't sanction a bet on a two-year-old, one did do so after Tongue had turned 11.

The result was a cool £50,000 win for Piper when Tongue made his England Test debut against Ireland in June 2023.

"I've been best friends with his dad for 35 years, Phil," Piper said. "He's here today.

"We start chucking a tennis ball, you know, he's [Tongue's father] throwing a tennis ball at him, and he's getting forward, getting forward. He's two-and-a-half at the time.

"He started bowling leggies and offies and the wrong-un and the top-spinner to me. I was shaking my head. I said, 'What's this little kid doing, Phil? It's a fluke'.

"As he's bowling he's laughing, because he knows what he's bowling. I haven't got a clue.

"I got back home to the missus and I said, 'I don't know what happened here tonight. This little two-year-old sorted me out'.

"I got the bet on when he was 11 years of age. £100 at 500/1. It paid £50,000 in England, which is $100,000 here [in Australia].

"I ironed it [the bet slip]. I kept it in my cupboard for 14 years."

Piper added that, with his winnings, he went on a Caribbean holiday with his wife, and gave Tongue £5,000 for a 'trust fund for his son'.