Phil Tufnell gets hand on ashes – by cremating his cat and making him a key ring

Phil Tufnell has finally got his hands on the ashes – he had his prized moggy Oscar cremated and turned into a key ring.

The former cricket ace starred for England in four bids for The Ashes between 1990 and 2001. But he was always on the losing side in a period dominated by series wins by rivals Australia.

Tuffers revealed he now has ashes of his own – having his beloved cat’s remains as a treasured keepsake for him and his wife Dawn.

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He said: “When Oscar passed away, we did what any owners would do – cremated him and had him made into keyrings. Well, what I mean is we’ve got two keyrings with his ashes in them.

“At least we think they’re his. Who amongst us can honestly say they’d know a cat’s ashes from a dog’s or even a lizard’s? I could be walking around with a six-foot python in my keyring. To be fair, they did put a bit of Oscar’s fur in there too, and I’ve never seen a furry boa constrictor.”

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Phil, 57, admitted in his new book The Tourist that he was in floods of tears when his “beautiful silver-shaded Persian” died.

The ex-A Question of Sport captain – who was nicknamed ‘The Cat’ as a cricketer because he loved a kip in the dressing room – said his furry friend passed shortly after Dawn returned from a trip away with pals.

He said: “I swear old Oscar hung on until she came back. When we got in from Gatwick he was lying on the floor with his tongue hanging out. Dawn wrapped him up in her arms and we scooted off to the vet’s. I’ll be honest, as we sat in the waiting room I was crying my eyes out.

“I did think, ‘Come on! It’s only a cat! And he’s just had Loch Fyne salmon!’, but anyone who’s lost a pet will tell you it is a very emotional time. When my stick insect passed away while I was on tour with Middlesex U-13s I was inconsolable.

“In his surgery, the vet confirmed that Oscar’s time was up. He’d chased his last shrew, flicked his last ball of wool round the carpet, eaten his last wasp. We’ve yet to replace Oscar. We’ve talked about perhaps getting another cat, potentially even a dog, but the worry of us both being away in time of need is overwhelming.”

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