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How Not to Be a Cricketer
'Brilliant' Paul Newman, Daily Mail
SHORTLISTED FOR THE BEST SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT BOOK OF THE YEAR
In How Not to be a Cricketer, former England international and TV personality Phil Tufnell highlights the many potential pitfalls of a professional cricket career, and provides a hilarious insight into how to avoid them and what happens when, like him, you don't.
I was the model cricketer – if anyone wanted to know how not to be one. My career included more ups and downs than the big dipper at Margate and more bumps than the dodgems next door. And yet somehow I climbed off the ride unblemished. I survived to walk away on my own terms. For someone who never quite fitted the mould, I was actually pretty good at not being a cricketer.
In his superb new book, Phil Tufnell looks back over his life and career to provide brilliant advice and insights, often learned the hard way, from his own experiences as a cricketer. If you want to learn how to make a good first impression, maybe don’t have your hair cut in a Mohican. And when, after a drunken night on an England Under-19 tour to Barbados, the players were told ‘You cannot be caught coming in at a ridiculous hour and still be drunk in the morning’ most took his wise words on board; Tuffers vowed not to get caught.
Packed with brilliant stories and revealing anecdotes about some of the great players of his time, such as Mike Atherton, Mike Gatting, Graham Gooch and Nasser Hussain, How Not to be a Cricketer is the perfect read for anyone who wants to know more about the potential pitfalls of the game, and how to avoid them.
SHORTLISTED FOR THE BEST SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT BOOK OF THE YEAR
In How Not to be a Cricketer, former England international and TV personality Phil Tufnell highlights the many potential pitfalls of a professional cricket career, and provides a hilarious insight into how to avoid them and what happens when, like him, you don't.
I was the model cricketer – if anyone wanted to know how not to be one. My career included more ups and downs than the big dipper at Margate and more bumps than the dodgems next door. And yet somehow I climbed off the ride unblemished. I survived to walk away on my own terms. For someone who never quite fitted the mould, I was actually pretty good at not being a cricketer.
In his superb new book, Phil Tufnell looks back over his life and career to provide brilliant advice and insights, often learned the hard way, from his own experiences as a cricketer. If you want to learn how to make a good first impression, maybe don’t have your hair cut in a Mohican. And when, after a drunken night on an England Under-19 tour to Barbados, the players were told ‘You cannot be caught coming in at a ridiculous hour and still be drunk in the morning’ most took his wise words on board; Tuffers vowed not to get caught.
Packed with brilliant stories and revealing anecdotes about some of the great players of his time, such as Mike Atherton, Mike Gatting, Graham Gooch and Nasser Hussain, How Not to be a Cricketer is the perfect read for anyone who wants to know more about the potential pitfalls of the game, and how to avoid them.
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Published October 28, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
April 26, 2023
this autobiography was funny in parts and charts this cricketing career
December 21, 2021
Funny as hell. If you were expecting a cricket memoire, then this is *not* the book for you. Phil wasn't known for being a "normal" cricketer - he was (and still is) better remembered for his antics off the pitch.
It does help if you have read other cricket memoirs - The Judge: More Than Just a Game being one that will really help, as will Unguarded: My Autobiography.
But it was a good book - had me laughing like hell in places, which isn't bad going when I was doing my physio....
It does help if you have read other cricket memoirs - The Judge: More Than Just a Game being one that will really help, as will Unguarded: My Autobiography.
But it was a good book - had me laughing like hell in places, which isn't bad going when I was doing my physio....
January 2, 2022
Funny, eye opening and reassuring! As a cricketer who is nowhere near the professional level it’s really good to see that not everyone in the game is the public school, upper class Englishmen. From tv and radio we all know what Tuffers is like and having read other ex professionals autobiographies there was just something about this that was refreshing and reassuring. It’s honest and like Tuffers, wasn’t trying to be something it’s not. What you see is what you get and that brings a whole lot of respect. It really was a very enjoyable read and made me feel much better about myself, who I am as a person and as a character in a cricket environment.
March 12, 2024
Great read, comic anecdotes delivered in Tuffers inimitable style
January 5, 2022
Very fun book with lots of stories to make you laugh. In addition to these there are interesting judgements of the ECB throughout the 90s and also some delicate thoughts on mental health. Not exactly written well, but it's Phil Tufnell - what would you expect?
September 25, 2022
As sports autobiographies go this is pretty good. An interesting look into the past with some humour justified criticism and an optimism about the improving management and professionalism of the game, straight from the horses mouth with a little help. Not that i’m suggesting Tuffers resembles a horse in anyway. It’s not Clive James , but then he was a professional critic/journalist.
It is a fact that many of the world’s most charismatic and off the wall superstar sports people have started their careers with a fragile mix of anger, passion, originality and indisputable talent.
This account is opinionated, revealing and straight as a die as Phil lived it. He stands up for himself and others who have tested the establishment to recognise and embrace players outside the mould of stuffy tradition.
I am a bit older so I well remember some of the more historical characters as long ago as Ted Dexter which I very much enjoyed. On a serious note it lays out the evolution and difficulties of an amateur sport coming from a colonial background into the modern world and all that encompasses which of course is enormous. It is widening its audience or spectatorship. Seems barriers are breaking down and hopefully a better approach to team building is emerging. I have enjoyed playing and watching cricket over the years. Strangely I do not class myself as a huge cricket fan, having come across some of the problems of bias and snobbery amongst the higher echelons myself. I hope it is much changed for the better. That in no way is to say cricket doesn’t have a glorious past. More that it has a brighter future
It is a fact that many of the world’s most charismatic and off the wall superstar sports people have started their careers with a fragile mix of anger, passion, originality and indisputable talent.
This account is opinionated, revealing and straight as a die as Phil lived it. He stands up for himself and others who have tested the establishment to recognise and embrace players outside the mould of stuffy tradition.
I am a bit older so I well remember some of the more historical characters as long ago as Ted Dexter which I very much enjoyed. On a serious note it lays out the evolution and difficulties of an amateur sport coming from a colonial background into the modern world and all that encompasses which of course is enormous. It is widening its audience or spectatorship. Seems barriers are breaking down and hopefully a better approach to team building is emerging. I have enjoyed playing and watching cricket over the years. Strangely I do not class myself as a huge cricket fan, having come across some of the problems of bias and snobbery amongst the higher echelons myself. I hope it is much changed for the better. That in no way is to say cricket doesn’t have a glorious past. More that it has a brighter future
September 21, 2023
When playing against a mighty West Indies he’d be out the night before on a Caribbean beach bar, now this doesn’t make him the picture perfect pro, but it does make him a laugh.
Full of hilarious anecdotes like when himself and uni-educated Michael Atherton got abandoned on the India tour, or when he “emerged from the hutch, a beautiful, 50,000-strong rendition of ‘Tufnell Is A Wanker’, with 47 runs needed”. They didn’t get them, Tuffers like myself couldn’t bat for toffee.
There’s some touching moments regarding the early loss of his mum, his struggles with mental health and an outdated set out selectors and coaches just about ruining the England cricket team of the 1990s. Overall this is a book of funnies and they’re very funny stories. Class act
Full of hilarious anecdotes like when himself and uni-educated Michael Atherton got abandoned on the India tour, or when he “emerged from the hutch, a beautiful, 50,000-strong rendition of ‘Tufnell Is A Wanker’, with 47 runs needed”. They didn’t get them, Tuffers like myself couldn’t bat for toffee.
There’s some touching moments regarding the early loss of his mum, his struggles with mental health and an outdated set out selectors and coaches just about ruining the England cricket team of the 1990s. Overall this is a book of funnies and they’re very funny stories. Class act
May 14, 2023
An incident-filled, honest and down-to-earth account of the life of a Test and county Cricketer from the not-so-normal viewpoint of a left-arm spinner.
The book is written by an Englishman who was known to be an out-of-the-mould spin bowler with several idiosyncratic behaviors. These incidents are described with great relish and a laugh is never far away as one reads this book. However Tuffers brings out the constant push and pulls within England teams of the nineties.
A lovely and lively read for those who are followers of the game over past 30 years.
The book is written by an Englishman who was known to be an out-of-the-mould spin bowler with several idiosyncratic behaviors. These incidents are described with great relish and a laugh is never far away as one reads this book. However Tuffers brings out the constant push and pulls within England teams of the nineties.
A lovely and lively read for those who are followers of the game over past 30 years.
May 7, 2022
This is a book that Tuffers looks mainly at his time as an international test player. This involves various memories some of which are funny. There is a mixture of his views on the treatment of cricket players during this time some of which are sad and thought provoking. The memories are cricket so this is not an autobiography. As a cricket fan this will be more interesting. I haven’t read any other books by him and so may look for one more autobiographical.
January 9, 2023
A very funny book with some of Tuffers’ great stories.
The Cat also outlines some of the problems he faced with the ECB and the flaws which they had during his playing career.
It is also very poignant at times as he talks candidly about some of the real problems he faced regarding his mental health and how he got through them.
The Cat also outlines some of the problems he faced with the ECB and the flaws which they had during his playing career.
It is also very poignant at times as he talks candidly about some of the real problems he faced regarding his mental health and how he got through them.
November 24, 2023
An excellent insight into the world of professional cricket, albeit Tuffers isn't/wasn't your typical cricketer. Really human and often humorous it really opens the reader's eyes to the highs and many lows of life on the road, here and overseas, often for months at a stretch.
November 19, 2021
A disappointing read. Too little cricket too many accounts of boozing events.
August 2, 2023
Really funny. Annoyed my girlfriend constantly because I was laughing out loud while she was trying to read her book
April 5, 2024
Great read
Really good stories about cricket and other life incidents. Tuffers says it like it is, feet flat on the floor.
Really good stories about cricket and other life incidents. Tuffers says it like it is, feet flat on the floor.
October 6, 2024
Entertaining set of themed stories from Tuffer’s cricketing career.
July 3, 2025
The opening exchanges of this book are funny and much like the Tuffers we all hear and see. Gets a lot more personal than I thought it would.
January 6, 2024
Phil seems like a great bloke, talented bowler from a non privileged background. Interesting how public school attitudes in cricket failed to deal with the care and attention that is needed.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews