"I look at it sometimes and think, ‘Come on mate, ring me'" - Shaun Udal remembers Shane Warne

Former England spinner Shaun Udal has opened up on his struggles with Parkinson's disease and how he came to terms with the demise of Shane Warne. Udal admitted that Warne's death hit him hard as it hasn't sunk in.

Warne tragically passed away on March 4 last year in Thailand due to a heart attack, leaving the cricketing fraternity shell-shocked. The Victorian was one of the most impactful performers in Test cricket as he finished with 708 wickets in 145 matches, playing a significant role in Australian cricket's dominance over a decade.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, the 54-year-old disclosed that losing his mother and brother was unbearable and that Shane Warne's death was hard to take in.

"Mum went a couple of years ago and we couldn’t say goodbye because of COVID and then I lost my brother unexpectedly. Then when Shane went… I still can’t believe it. I’ve still got his number on my phone and I look at it sometimes and think, ‘Come on mate, ring me.’ But it’s not going to happen."

The former off-spinner's most significant career moment came at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai in 2006 when he took a fifer to bowl England to a 212-run victory.

"My hands would shake so much I’d be bowling long hops" - Shaun Udal

Shaun Udal. (Image Credits: Getty

The former Yorkshire spinner claimed that his long-standing battles with Parkinson's hasn't allowed him to bowl properly. He added:

"My hands would shake so much I’d be bowling long hops and full tosses even more than I used to! I could probably bat for a bit to be fair but my ambition since being diagnosed has been to bowl properly again in a game before this gets too bad.

"I’ve yet to achieve that. I did have a couple of nets a couple of winters back and let’s just say they didn’t go too well."

Udal played the last of his four Tests in December 2005 against Pakistan in Rawalpindi, where he took eight wickets at 43.