da luck： I thought it was going to be a great summer of international cricket, and what a start we’ve made with that First Test win against Pakistan
da aposte e ganhe： Phil Tufnell22-May-2001I thought it was going to be a great summer of international cricket, and what a start we’ve made with that First Test win against Pakistan. I was up at Durham, plying my trade for Middlesex, but I took every opportunity to watch the dressing room TV and I thought the guys were fantastic. One day lost to rain, and then to win in three days; what a performance! They batted fantastically, bowled fantastically, fielded fantastically. Fantastic was definitely the word to describe it.
Phil Tufnell: I am available for England
Photo © CricInfo
I know people will say that Pakistan played badly, but there are two responses to that. I think they were naïve rather than bad (they’ve got too many good players to be a bad side), and they only played as well as they were allowed to by the England boys.They were right to win the toss and bowl, but they didn’t bowl as they should have done. I think I know a bit about Lord’s because it’s my home ground, and on that first day after the washout they should have pitched the ball up, used the slope and used the conditions to get it to swing. Just banging it in was not the way to do it.As for the team selection, they really dropped a clanger. Or, to be precise, they dropped Saqlain Mushtaq. I don’t care what anyone says, Saqlain Mushtaq is one of the world’s great bowlers, and that’s whether it spins or not. I thought Pakistan missed a trick by not playing him, and that’s to take nothing away from England.I’ve played quite a few times for England and, whether I’m in the side or not, I still want to see the boys I’ve known and played with do well. So, it was great to see Thorpey batting so well for his 80. He looked a class act, and so did Nasser with his 60. Then there was Caddy and Gough. I’ve played with all these fellas and it was great to see them all doing so well.The thing about it was that it takes all the pressure off before the Aussies arrive. One-nil up, they can’t lose the series now. It could have been a cheeky little two-match business and, had we lost it, we’d have felt a bit down before the Ashes. As it is, we can now begin to look forward to the next one.There’s a buzz about the game and, if we do well against the Aussies, it could really take off. I think everyone always wants England to do well and now, with four series wins in the bag and perhaps a fifth on the cards, the public is right behind the team.The important thing for me is that the boys are in a run of form and for the first time in a long time they’re making the other teams play badly. We’ve always had to go out and beat the opposition, but now the tables have turned and they’ve got to beat us. Pakistan played poorly at Lord’s and, make no mistake about it, Waqar Younis will know his side played poorly. That’s the way to beat teams. Put the onus on the other side and then you don’t have to play well – they’ll play badly.England did that. They went out and faced an experienced attack with the likes of Waqar and Wasim and they got nearly 400. That was a great start, it gave them confidence and gave the bowlers a couple of days with their feet up before they went out there and did the business.I must admit that I’d liked to have seen a bit of spin – and I’m not talking about the election now. When I’m sitting there with my cup of tea, dunking the old digestive and having a fag, I do want to see the top spin bowlers. Saqlain Mushtaq is one of the best and perhaps we’ll see him in the Pakistan side at Old Trafford.As for England at Old Trafford, well all I will say is that I am available. I like to think that I’ve still got some bowling to do for England, but all I can do is take a shed load of wickets for Middlesex and get attention that way. I’m not one to go round chatting up selectors and saying how well I’m doing. I reckon at the end of the day it’s performances on the field that count.I suppose I might have upset a few people along the way, but I’ve always believed that weight of wickets is what counts. That’s my philosophy and I hope to nudge the selectors in that way. If it comes – great stuff; if not, I’m still working hard. So, the message to Mr. Graveney and his wise men is: Tuffers says it’s coming out of the hand brilliantly and he’s bowling like a genius!Seriously, I’m really enjoying my cricket at the moment, we’ve made a great start to the season at Middlesex, so who knows what’s around the corner?
