Phil Tufnell

Philip Clive Roderick Tufnell (born 29 April 1966) is a former English cricketer turned television personality. A slow left-arm orthodox spin bowler, "Tuffers" as he was known played 42 Tests and 20 One Day International matches for England, as well as playing for Middlesex from 1986 to 2002. With 121 Test wickets, Tufnell is as of 2009 35th in the list of most wickets by an England bowler,^[1] and his average of 37.68 is considered high for a genuine bowler, however Tufnell's personality, trademark behaviour and "great control of flight" when playing made him a popular sports personality.^[2] Following his retirement in 2002, Tufnell has built on his popularity with several television appearances. These include I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! which he won, They Think It's All Over, A Question of Sport and Strictly Come Dancing.^[3] He was presented with an honorary doctorate by Middlesex University on 20 July 2011, recognising his achievements in sport and the media.^[4]

Early life

Tufnell went to Highgate School where his cricketing prowess was recognised and he was appointed captain of the Junior School's First XI despite the fact he was not yet in the top year. On leaving Highgate he attended, and played cricket for, Southgate School. He then trained as a quantity surveyor and was faced with the tough decision of whether to play cricket professionally or to continue surveying quantities. He chose to do the former.^[5]

Cricket career

As a slow left-arm orthodox spin bowler he played 42 Test matches and 20 One Day Internationals for England between 1990 and 2001, and 316 first-class matches, mainly for Middlesex. Tufnell was occasionally inspired with the ball, taking 11-93 against Australia at the Oval in 1997 (for which he won the Man of the Match award after England won by 19 runs) and seven wickets in an innings against the West Indies at the Oval in 1991, but he took his 121 Test wickets with a bowling average of 37.68 across his whole Test career. Mark Waugh theorised that "if you attack him, he can go on the defensive, and it puts him off his game".^[6] According to Michael Parkinson, a British talk show host, "at the age of nine he was opening the bowling and the batting for his club's junior team". Parkinson also believes that his "ordinary fielding made him a luxury in the view of the ... (English cricket) management (circa August 1996)".^[7] However his fielding did improve during his career. He was nicknamed "The Cat" due to his propensity to be found sleeping in the dressing room. He also acquired the nickname "Two Sugars" due to his well known love of tea. According to England teammate Michael Atherton, Tufnell smoked more than occasionally.^[8]

During his career spanning over a decade with Middlesex, Tufnell took more than 1,000 first class wickets in the English game. His autobiography What Now ? ISBN 0002188163 was published in 1999.

Tufnell also received an honorary doctorate from Middlesex University on 20 July 2011 in recognition of his achievements in sport and the media.^[9]

Television and radio career

Tufnell retired from professional cricket before the 2003 season in order to participate in the "reality television" show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! which he won, and was a team captain on the sports quiz show They Think It's All Over until 2005. In 2004, he made two guest appearances on the British soap opera Family Affairs. He also co-presented the game show Simply the Best that year. Tufnell also co-authored a humorous book, Phil Tufnell's' A To Z of Cricket with cricket journalist Adam Hathaway.^[10]

Tufnell makes occasional appearances as a summariser on BBC Radio's Test Match Special, first appearing in 2008. He also hosted the Phil Tufnell Cricket show on BBC radio 5 during the 2010 season, although this ended before the conclusion of the season. Tufnell is a team captain on the BBC panel show A Question of Sport. He makes regular appearances as a reporter on BBCs The One Show Tufnell is appearing in one of the teams on BBCs Sport Relief Does The Apprentice.^[11] On 12 April 2008, Tufnell and his wife Dawn were guests on the ITV show All Star Mr & Mrs.^[12] where they won the top £30,000 prize for their chosen charity, The Children's Trust, Tadworth.

Tufnell made two guest appearances on the game show Hole in the Wall on 4 October 2008 and on 1 November 2008. Tufnell took part in series 7 of the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing, partnering new pro dancer Katya Virshilas and being eliminated in week 9.^[13]

Personal life

Tufnell's first marriage to Alison Squires ended in 1989. He has two daughters; Ellie, 16, with ex-girlfriend Jane McElvoy, and six year old Poppy with ex-wife Lisa Bar. On a tour of New Zealand in 1997 reports emerged that he left a toilet cubicle trailing the scent of marijuana but he was exonerated.^[14] During divorce proceeding ex- wife Lisa produced court documents accusing Tufnell of causing her to endure 'anxiety, stress and an eating disorder'. She also claimed he had continually harassed her^[15] and abused her.^[16] He is now married to Dawn.^[17]

Tufnell is the president of a cricket charity– Cricket for Change.^[18] He is also a Vice-President of UK children's charity The Children's Trust, Tadworth.^[19]

Tufnell is also a big fan of the football club Arsenal.^[20]

Controversy

Michael Parkinson claimed in his book Parkinson: On Cricket that "the prejudice against Phil Tufnell [was] deep seated." ^[7] Tufnell's sporadic appearances during the mid-1990s may have also been due to his "tantrums on the field".^[7]

References

External links

• Player profile: Phil Tufnell from ESPNcricinfo
• Video of Phil Tufnell explaining his support for charity The Children's Trust, Tadworth