In the 1973 season he made his debut in the County Championship against Essex when he expensively took no wickets for 81 runs although he was not out in both innings.
He returned to regular appearances in 1977 and continued to play in Derbyshire's first team and one day competitions until 1983, staying on top of his game for much of this period.
[1] In his final season in 1983 Tunnicliffe made his top score of 91 against Hampshire.
Tunnicliffe was a left-arm medium-fast bowler and took 319 first-class wickets with an average of 32.17 and a best performance of 7-36.
He was a right-handed batsman and played 176 innings in 150 first-class matches with an average of 14.32 and a top score of 91 not out.