Cricket equipment – Famous Players – Phil Tufnell

Phil Tufnell swapped his cricket equipment for television, becoming one of the most famous players in Britain.

Britain seems to have a plethora of famous cricket players including Phil Tufnell who launched himself onto the unsuspecting British public when he appeared in the reality TV show, I’m a Celebrity, Get Me out of Here!

Phil Tufnell is a television personality in the United Kingdom, not just because of his skill with a cricket bat but because he has the equipment to make it as a famous player – personality, humour and likeability.

Born in 1966, his school realised early on that Phil had the equipment to go on to be one of the world class famous cricket players.

Cricket career

As a slow left-arm spin bowler he played 42 Tests and 20 one-day Internationals for England between 1990 and 2001. During his career, Tufnell took more than 1,000 first class wickets.

Controversy

But like so many famous players who have taken their cricket equipment onto the world stage, controversy has never been far behind Tufnell.

He was accused of smoking cannabis when he was touring with England, had had two divorces, and was once fined for assault.

His first wife became a prostitute after their marriage ended and his next relationship with Jane McEvoy was equally rocky leaving a custody battle over their daughter, after which Tufnell was charged with assault and fined £800. Jane’s father, Michael McEvoy, was then fined £2500 for attacking Tufnell with a brick.

His life is perfect fodder for the media – he was also admitted into a psychiatric ward, been expelled from school and arrested three times.

Nicknames

After winning the major UK television reality show, Tufnell’s nickname ‘The Cat’ – because of his propensity of falling asleep anywhere and everywhere – became common knowledge with the British public.

“Out all night, sleep all day,” he has said to the British press, explaining the nickname. “Nine lives - I think I’ve got a couple left.”

On the strength of his celebrity, he joined the ranks of famous players who wrote their autobiographies, detailing his adventures of taking his cricket equipment all over the globe. ‘What now?’ was published in 1999.

Famous players

Cricketers in Britain seem to become famous players not for their skills on the cricket course or with their cricket equipment but for appearing on reality TV shows. Celebrity Come Dancing is another show that has made two British cricketers famous in the past two years.

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