It is remarkable Udal is even okay considering what life has thrown at him. And the amount of people from Hampshire, Middlesex and the cricket world who keep in touch or drop me a line every now and then is phenomenal. ‘It does bring me comfort to share these experiences. Udal celebrates with Andrew Flintoff after defeating India in a Test match in Mumbai in 2006 ‘I was red in the face from trying to get myself out of bed and I thought ‘sod it I’m going to put a post out there.’ I got so many responses from that and that won’t bring a cure but it will help people understand that it’s a real thing and how quickly it can affect me. That’s why one day at 3.30 in the morning when I was in pain and couldn’t sleep I decided to post a video to show people I’m not making it up. ![]() ‘They message me and it makes me think I’m not on my own. ‘It’s so nice to hear from other people who have got this problem,’ he says. It is just Udal’s way of raising understanding of Parkinson’s and seeking empathy with other sufferers. Those social media posts of Udal’s are powerful and have touched so many within cricket this hugely popular character counts as friends and also those outside the game who do not know him. Your mind is still active but your body can’t do what you want it to anymore.’ I know there are worse diseases out there but this is pretty horrible. ‘It can be difficult for people to understand so that’s why I put out social media posts and will continue to do so. ‘If you break a leg you know you will recover and be up walking again but this is a lifetime thing and it’s not going to get any better. ‘It is the loneliness of it all really because no-one else can help you get out of this,’ he says. The bad is that once he closes the door of his house in Basingstoke at night the pain and loneliness, even with a loving and hugely supportive family around him, can be close to unbearable. The good news is that he is suffering a slow progression of Parkinson’s and is still able to lead a reasonably normal life. ![]() The former England spinner found the transition to ‘the real world’ difficult after retiring at 41
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