A surprise pick on two occasions for England, 11 years apart, Shaun Udal made his international debut in 1994, and then finally made his Test debut at Multan at the age of 36, on England's tour of Pakistan in November 2005. Initially overlooked for England's subsequent Tests in India, he was called up for the final match at Mumbai, and stunned India's batsmen with a haul of 4 for 14 on the final afternoon, including Sachin Tendulkar, as England squared the series in thrilling and memorable fashion. Udal's original call-up had come when he was hand-picked by Ray Illingworth, the new chairman of selectors, in 1994. A steady performer for Hampshire, he had been drafted into the one-day squad for the Texaco Trophy matches against New Zealand - making his debut alongside Darren Gough. He dismissed Adam Parore and Ken Rutherford, and consistent performances against South Africa at the end of the summer gained him a place on the 1994-95 Ashes tour. However, he didn't escape the injury jinx that hit the tour, a torn side muscle forcing him home early. After a wicketless Texaco series against the West Indies in 1995 he disappeared from the England scene, but remained a high quality county performer nonetheless. It seemed, however, that his chance of higher honours had gone, until in September 2005, he was named in a 17-man squad for England's tour of Pakistan. The arrival of Shane Warne at Hampshire had revived his career and turned him into a much more attacking bowler, and he continued to make valuable runs in the lower order. The one blot on Udal's career is the three-year ban from club cricket handed to him after being found guilty of violent conduct, while playing for his club, Camberley, in the Surrey Championships. He retired from first-class cricket at the fag end of the 2007 season and was offered the chance to play for Berkshire in 2008. But in December, aged 38, Middlesex lured him out of retirement to sign him on a two-year contract and his career to another surprising twist when he was named captain part-way through the season before being confirmed in the job full-time. He was unable to turn the club's fortunes around, however, as they finished second from the bottom of division two in 2009. After struggling early in the part of the 2010 season he resigned from the captaincy. At the end of the season, he also announced his retirement from first-class cricket at the age of 41.

Cricinfo staff June 2010