Udal hails Warne factor

Shaun Udal believes he has learnt a great amount from Shane Warne

Shaun Udal believes his surprise England recall after a decade on the sidelines is down to the Shane Warne factor.

Udal, 36, has enjoyed a new lease of life playing second fiddle to Australian great Warne in Hampshire's twin-spin threat, earning the veteran a place in England's tour to Pakistan.

It is 10 years since he won the last of his 10 one-day international caps but his 36 wickets at 20 runs apiece, following a return of 39 at 22.28 in 2004, meant the off-spinner edged a place ahead of younger competitors.

Warne terrorised England's batsmen once again this summer during the 2-1 Ashes defeat with 40 victims but his presence in this country has also impacted on those attempting to force their way into the shake-up for Michael Vaughan's all-conquering team.

“Operating as a second spinner is what I've done for the last two years at Hampshire with Warney at the other end,” said Udal. “He brings more than just his bowling: his cricket brain, his enthusiasm, his passion - it's rubbed off on me.

“Warney is just from a different planet, he sees things other people don't see as a captain, and has helped me with my bowling. He is not just a good friend, he's been an enormous help to me.

Warne and Udal have formed a devastating spin partnership for Hampshire © Getty Images

“I first met him on my first tour of Australia in 1994-95, even then he was a gentleman, always shook my hand and said hello even though he didn't have a clue who I was.

“Every time he came back to England since then he's always remembered my name - little things like that you don't forget.

“He teaches people to respect the game, respect the opposition and never fear them.”

One legacy of the partnership with Warne has been the development of a doosra, a delivery which skids on or leaves right-handed batsmen rather than spin into the pads.

Warwickshire's Alex Loudon, 25, has also been selected for the 17-man party for developing such an ability.

“It's still nowhere near perfect, sometimes when it's not meant to happen it does,” said Udal. “Which means if I don't know when I'm bowling it, the batsman's not going to know either.

“I've bowled it quite a bit this last month and it's come out really well, it's a totally different ball to an arm ball in that it comes more out the front of the hand and skids on.

“It came about practising with Shane, throwing balls from hand to hand, asking him how he did it and learning myself.

“If you're going to play the game you might as well try and learn, however old you are.”

The Hampshire spinner had planned for a working winter © Getty Images

Udal was scheduled to spend the winter as a salesman for a printing company, a position he has held over the past few off-seasons, but could now make his Test bow should injury or illness strike Ashley Giles or the surfaces in Pakistan merit the inclusion of two spinners.

Plumping for an uncapped 36-year-old goes against England's selection policy of recent times and means Yorkshiremen Richard Dawson and Gareth Batty - the preferred off-spinners over the past handful of tours - are redundant.

“Shaun Udal is an experienced spinner and based on his performances this summer we felt he merited inclusion ahead of other candidates such as Gareth Batty, Richard Dawson and Graeme Swann,” said chairman of selectors David Graveney.

“Without wishing to be too blunt, regrettably their performances during the summer have probably been disappointing for them.

“Shaun is a guy who has been involved in county cricket for a long time; spinners can play at that sort of age, so there's no problem about that.

“We've stressed to everybody out there that performance is a relevant factor and that's why we've gone with Shaun.”