Cricket: Panesar Inspired By Tufnell

Phil Tufnell’s last useful contribution to English cricket came only this week when his skit on Australian TV, poking fun at Australia for losing the Ashes, was regarded down under as a national scandal. Tufnell, when told that Ricky Ponting was far from amused, was to laugh hysterically and say: "My advice to Ricky and the boys would be to enjoy life before it’s all gone."

But before he embarked on a post-cricket career as a light-entertainment scally, Tufnell’s England career also made an impact that he might never have imagined. Monty Panesar, the latest in the line of England left-arm spinners, has named Tufnell as his childhood hero.

The Panesar story could not be more encouraging for those seeking proof of racial inclusivity. Poised to become the first Sikh to play cricket for England, Panesar, strait-laced and sober, is about as far removed from Tufnell as it is possible to be. Yet it was Tufnell, England’s larrikin, rather than any Indian spinner of past vintage, whose swagger sees Panesar at his most expressive.

"Phil Tufnell was one of my heroes," he said, as he left England’s final training camp in Loughborough earlier this week. "I was transfixed by his use of flight and how it seemed as if he had the batsman sussed out. He looked like he had already planned how to get the batsman out but that he was just waiting for the right moment. I loved watching him do that.

"I remember my first game at Lord’s when I was watching him bowl for Middlesex and how he was setting different fields to different batsmen and changing his approach. I really looked up at him."

The Panesar story is an uplifting one. Born in Luton, England’s most classical spinner for a generation is a product of club cricket and he prospered not just because of his innate talent but because of enlightened attitudes. His first club, at 14, was Luton Indians, an all-Asian club, but they encouraged him to graduate to a higher standard. At Dunstable Town, he was lucky to play under the captaincy of David Mercer, a Northamptonshire development officer, who pressed for his inclusion in Bedfordshire age-group sides. The story of Anglo-Asian cricketers has not always been as straightforward.

England’s tour of India will return him to his family roots, but he does not seem overly concerned. "I always had an interest in English batsmen - Graham Gooch, David Gower, Robin Smith," he said. "They definitely had a stronger influence on me than any Indian players. India must be an ideal tour for any spinner. I haven’t bowled against any of India’s top six, but I have watched how they bat against spinners. They are all world-class players of spin and they are all so different."

He has yet to meet Duncan Fletcher, England’s coach, who left the get-together at the national academy to his assistant, Matthew Maynard. Fletcher is expected to prefer a lesser slow left-armer, Ian Blackwell, as the replacement for the injured Ashley Giles because of his greater batting ability, and the off-spin of Shaun Udal could be preferred because of the rough caused by India’s left-arm seamers. Panesar knows, too, that the last Northants spinner to tour with England, Jason Brown, spent most of his time by the swimming pool.