England's mischievous spin king turned much loved broadcaster and raconteur
CricketPhil Tufnell was the last great English larrikin of Test cricket. A left arm spinner of genuine flight and drift who bowled best on dry Sub Continent pitches, he was also the man who turned the dressing room into a permanent comedy club.
Tufnell played 42 Tests for England between 1990 and 2001, taking 121 wickets and winning games his captains had long given up on. His six for 25 against the West Indies at The Oval in 1991 changed a Test in an afternoon. His seven for 47 at Christchurch in 1992 did the same thing a hemisphere away. He was a proper bowler, not a joke selection, and anyone who ever batted against him will confirm it.
What the wider public loved was the personality. The cigarette between overs. The nervous smile at the non striker's end when he had to bat. The one liners at press conferences that Alec Stewart called unprintable. Tufnell was the cricketer who made you feel the game was human. When he won I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here in 2003 it felt, somehow, completely inevitable.
Today Tuffers is a fixture on Test Match Special, a permanent team captain on A Question of Sport, and one of the best paid and most in demand after dinner speakers in the country. He talks Ashes, tour stories, mischief, and the modern game with a warmth that nobody else in broadcasting quite matches.
Two decades of world class speakers in the basement at EC3. Want to book Phil Tufnell or someone like them? Tell us what you need and we will come back with a plan.
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