[1] Cricinfo journalist Lynn McConnell described Tuffey as a bowler with "an amazing penchant for taking wickets in the first over he bowled".

The figures were enough to secure Man of the Match honours once again, as New Zealand won the third Test against England by 78 runs and tied the series 1–1.

[7] However he was dropped from the side at the 2003 World Cup after a spell of 5–0–36–0 against Sri Lanka in the opening match, which included a "thin edge" off Sanath Jayasuriya's bat which was not seen by the umpire.

He had success against Sri Lanka, taking the wickets of Saman Jayantha and Marvan Atapattu for figures of 8–1–17–2, but the next four ODIs were cancelled out of respect for the victims of the tsunami that struck Sri Lanka, and when the Chappell–Hadlee came around Tuffey could only take one wicket in the first three matches, conceding 25 runs in two overs in the last one.

He made his T20I debut in the first ever T20I, held in New Zealand on 17 February 2005, in which Ricky Ponting hit four sixes and a four to register a 30-run over against Tuffey.

Many questioned his selection as he had considerably worse figures than other possible candidates for the spot, notably Auckland seamer Chris Martin.