Udal makes up for lost time

Eight years ago Shaun Udal feared his first-class career could be over. Two seasons of underperforming for Hampshire left him sweating over a new contract. Now he is on the verge of a Test debut and, at 36 years old, has added weight to argument that spinners get better with age.

If Udal makes England's final XI in Multan on Saturday he will be their oldest debutant since John Childs in 1988 against West Indies; and fourth oldest post-war. He has also been added to the one-day squad, completing an extraordinary turnaround in fortunes from the tough times of the mid-nineties. After his 10 one-day international appearances between 1994 and 1995, plus a place on the 94-95 Ashes tour Udal slipped back into county cricket with Hampshire - then almost fell out of the game completely. He is grateful that his county stuck by him.

"I was very concerned that I wasn't going to get a contract at the end of 1997. But the club repaid me by giving me the vice-captaincy and a bit of responsibility. It sort of hit home that I'd been letting people down for the last couple of years, and there was a bit of a culture change in my life and my lifestyle."

That was the turning point for Udal, who realised he had a second chance and wasn't going to throw it away. "I decided to get fitter and look after myself a bit better and make cricket my number one priority - which it wasn't. Since then I've enjoyed seven or eight really good years."

The arrival of Shane Warne at Hampshire then gave Udal extra impetus as he worked with the games greatest spinner. He became a more attacking bowling, not afraid to flight the ball and bowl a wicket-taking off-stump line. In 2005 he took 44 wickets at 18 apiece as Hampshire finished second in the first division of the County Championship.

"The last couple of months have just been phenomenal," he admitted. "Winning the C&G Trophy with Hampshire was what I thought was going to be the pinnacle of my career. But to have played in the two tour matches here for England and now be included in the one-day squad is a dream come true. I'm sure something will go wrong soon - but I hope it continues going well for a little while yet."