My Sporting Life is The i Paper’s peek behind the curtain at what drives sports stars to greatness. This week we speak to former England and Middlesex spinner Phil Tufnell.
Middlesex probably saved my life
I spent nearly 20 years there. Back in those days I was a bit of a rebel. I used to get up to all sorts of mischief as a youngster.
They knocked me into shape a little bit. But my first love was playing for England. It doesn’t get much better than pulling on the old England shirt.
So yeah, making my debut for England, I’d say that was my biggest achievement. I made my debut in the Ashes at the MCG in front of about 100,000 Australians on Boxing Day. They couldn’t have thrown me in the deeper end if they tried. It was an absolute delight. I loved every single minute of it.
I was a good batsman when I was a kid
If I could do it all again, I’d come back as a batter. They get all the cheers and the glory. Us bowlers, we are appreciated and what have you, of course we are, but I couldn’t think of anything better than being a batsman.
My biggest regret is I never got a Test hundred, even though I think I’d still be playing now to try and get one, it wasn’t my forte. Though I could bat a bit when I was a kid – I used to smash it all around the park. And then all of a sudden all of the other kids shot up to 6ft 8in and started bowling at 90mph.
But yeah, that was a big mistake. I should have spent more time practicing my batting. The money would’ve been a lot better, put it that way.
My door was never locked on tour
I had some wonderful times touring all over the world with plenty of the guys. I roomed with the late Graham Thorpe, who was a very good friend of mine. Thorpey and I had great fun together.
Also Robin Smith, who passed away when we were over in Australia this winter. We saw him for a couple of days, and then we found out two or three days later he passed away. They were both good mates of mine and I miss them dearly.
I always quite liked it when we roomed together, because you got to know them as people rather than teammates. Being on your own gets rather boring. I couldn’t be on my own for very long.
The best player I played against was Brian Lara
He scored that 375 against me in 1994. It was spell-binding, really, even though it hurt a lot at the time. I enjoyed watching him from close quarters when I wasn’t on the receiving end.
When Lara walked out, the crowd went wild. You did feel that a little bit. What a fabulous player.
I did start to feel a bit anxious when he was slogging it all over the place. But I remembered my mum and dad saying to me, there’s always someone worse off than you, so keep smiling for as long as you can.
Dennis Lillee was my hero growing up
He’s my favourite player of all time. Probably one of the best bowlers there’s ever been, actually. He was someone who really piqued my interest in the game when I was a young boy sat on the sofa watching him on the television.
Of course, he had that great big handlebar moustache. He was a bit of a larrikin, as the Aussies call him. I wanted to be just like him growing up.
A great showman, but an amazing cricketer as well. So he was my hero growing up. An Australian, oh boy, I’m going to get in trouble…
I loved ‘I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here’
I really enjoyed the Jungle, but Strictly Come Dancing was terrifying. I don’t think I ever really got over the nerves. I’m just a little bloke with two left feet.
People were fainting backstage, and I’m talking about actors and actresses, those sorts of people, so that didn’t help much. I remember old Bruce Forsyth telling me, just go out there and try and keep a smile on your face. That’s easier said than done, let me tell you.
I was really out of my comfort zone. It was a great experience, but it was terrifying. Give me Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh steaming in any time.
I met the Dalai Lama in an Irish bar in South Africa
Michael Vaughan and I went to a pub after training. I think it was in Durban – I’m pretty sure it was. And who was walking out? The Dalai Lama! He had all his entourage with him.
We couldn’t believe it. Things weren’t going so well so I said, “can you sort us out a win in Port Elizabeth?” I don’t think he knew who we were, but he was amazing.
We sat there for a good two or three minutes, having a little chat about life and stuff, and then off he went. Nobody believes us, because it was in a Guinness pub, so obviously we’d had a few, but honestly it’s absolutely true.
“Sue, Matt & Phil Live! The Reunion Tour” kicks off on 24 April. For tickets visit: myticket.co.uk
