So impressed were the punters with Hazlewood’s potential as a tearaway teenager that about seven years ago, they backed him at 25-1 to play Test cricket.

The bet, laid with a British bookmaker when Hazlewood was playing underage cricket, will see the 10 gamblers collect about $500 each.

A stipulation on the wager was that Hazlewood must play for Australia against a recognised Test-playing country before the age of 30.

The punters’ identities remain a closely guarded secret but The Leader understands the syndicate includes several people from the Tamworth area.

A source close to the syndicate said media reports yesterday that the punters stood to collect up to $50,000 were “rubbish”.

The wager came agonisingly close to being realised in 2012 when the Bendemeer paceman looked a certainty to make his Test debut in Perth against South Africa.

A nervous two-year wait ensued for the cricket tragics as Hazlewood battled injury problems before his exceptional limited-overs form this season demanded selection.