Reprinted with permission from the book “No- Balls and Googlies” by Geoff Tibballs — Michael O’Mara Books Ltd, London, 2013
Phil Tufnell — once likened to Manuel (from Fawlty Towers) by captain, Mike Brierley
No cricketer (nowadays, a media celebrity in Britain) has attracted as much mirth as Phil Tufnell (42 tests for England). As a spin bowler he took 121 test wickets but it is about other aspects of his game that countless stories abound.
Tufnell, the fieldsman
“The other advantage England have got when Phil Tufnell is bowling is that he isn’t fielding.”
— Ian Chappell, commentator
Tufnell, himself, on why he became a spinner
You can’t smoke twenty a day and bowl fast.
Tufnell, the twelfth-man
Tuffers was also known as “The Cat”, not for his supreme athleticism but because he slept through his twelfth-man duties when playing for Middlesex.
Tufnell, the target of crowd ribbing
On tour an Aussie fan called out to him: “Hey Tufnell, can I borrow your brain? I’m building an idiot.”
And finally, Tufnell sledged by an umpire
When Tuffers, playing his first test match at the MCG, innocently asked “How many left, ump?”
Australian umpire Peter O’Connell replied “count them yourself, you Pommy bastard!”