Tufnell was educated at Highgate School where his cricketing prowess was recognised and he was appointed captain of the Junior School's First XI before reaching the top year. On leaving Highgate, he attended and played cricket for Southgate School.[3] He then trained in quantity surveying and was faced with the decision of whether to play cricket professionally or to work as a quantity surveyor. He chose to do the former.[4]
Cricket career
A graph showing Tufnell's Test career bowling statistics and how they varied over time
As a slow left-arm orthodox spinbowler, Tufnell played 42 Test matches and 20 One Day Internationals for England between 1990 and 2001, and 316 first-class matches, mainly for Middlesex.
Tufnell occasionally produced remarkable performances, for example 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 the match (6–25 in the first innings) against the West Indies at the Oval in 1991,.[5] 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] although Waugh was Tufnell's most frequent test victim, being dismissed a total of seven times by him, three of them bowled.[7]
According to Michael Parkinson, a chat show host and cricketer, "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]".[8] He was not at all an accomplished or confident batsman, often appearing particularly nervous and awkward at Test level, where he became regarded as the ultimate 'rabbit' number 11, Tufnell's fielding improved during his career. He was nicknamed "The Cat" due to his propensity to be found sleeping in the corner of the dressing room. He also acquired the nickname "Two Sugars" due to his well-known love of tea. According to England teammate Mike Atherton, Tufnell smoked quite heavily.[9]
During his career spanning 16 years with Middlesex, Tufnell took 1,057 first-class wickets in the English game at an average of 29.35.
Since 2003, Tufnell has appeared as a summariser on BBC Radio's Test Match Special. He has also hosted The Phil Tufnell Cricket Show and Tuffers and Vaughan Cricket Show on BBC Radio 5.
On 12 April 2008, Tufnell and his wife Dawn appeared on the ITV game show All Star Mr & Mrs.[14] On 4 October and 1 November 2008, Tufnell appeared on the game show Hole in the Wall. In 2009, he competed in the seventh series of the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing, partnering professional dancer Katya Virshilas. The couple were eliminated in the ninth week.[15] On 7 October 2011, he appeared on the BBC One panel show Would I Lie To You?, where he claimed to have recurring dreams in which he is a potato, being chased by a pitchfork. On 19 November 2011, he appeared on a celebrity edition of ITV quiz show The Chase.
Tufnell is married to Dawn Brown, having had two previous marriages. He has two daughters, one with former girlfriend Jane McElvoy and one with his second wife Lisa Bar.[21] Tufnell's personal life hit the headlines in 1994 when he was fined £800 after admitting assaulting McElvoy, after she ended their relationship.[22][23]
In 1997, while on a tour of New Zealand, allegations emerged that he left a toilet cubicle of a restaurant trailing the scent of cannabis but he was exonerated with the incident being a publicity stunt.[24]
Tufnell was the president of a cricket charity – The Change Foundation (formerly Cricket for Change) up to 2022.[25][26] He is an ambassador of UK children's charity The Children's Trust for children with brain injury and neurodisability.[27][28]
His autobiography What Now?ISBN0-00-218816-3 was published in 1999.
Tufnell also co-authored a humorous book, Phil Tufnell's A to Z of Cricket with cricket journalist Adam Hathaway.[30]
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