Shane Udal: Ex-cricketer opens up about living with Parkinson's disease - symptoms and treatment explained

A Parkinson’s diagnosis followed by a string of bereavements has been tough for former England off spin bowler.

After a glittering cricket career which saw him play at county level and for England, Shaun Udal’s life was turned on its head through illness and bereavement. A month before turning 50 in 2019, the former off-spinner was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

While trying to come to terms with having the incurable neurological condition, he was dealt another series of devastating blows by the deaths of his mother, brother and close friend, cricketer Shane Warne.

He said: "With Parkinson’s, if you’re stressed it increases the problems. There were three major people in my life who had gone within only 15 months of each other.

"I didn’t know where to turn, I had all sorts of dark thoughts – I was lying in bed thinking, ‘Who’s going to come to my funeral?’ It was scary. There are bad days and some good ones.

"I had tremors after I was first diagnosed, but with medication, the tremors have not been quite as bad. I get a lot of headaches, my motor skills are very bad."

Udal, 54, played for the likes of Middlesex and Hampshire, as well as being called up for England. Since his diagnosis, he has been working with The Professional Cricketers’ Trust on his condition and for counselling.

He said: You could be stood there normally and leaning forwards then all of a sudden you’re on the floor. It is what it is. I’d rather not have it, but I can’t change it, so I try and live day-by-day.

"I can’t do anything else about it, it’s incurable, it will deteriorate and it will get the better of me at some stage. But I’m determined to try and delay that for as long as I can. [I think about] the good times, thinking of the cricket, the friendships and the memories.

"I’m going to be a grandfather in April, which is something I can’t wait for. My eldest daughter Katherine is pregnant and she’s giving birth in mid-to-late April. These little landmarks are achievable things.

"Just the little things – I enjoy nipping to the pub, having a catch-up with my mates and not talking about Parkinson’s. I know it’s there and it will be forever, so sometimes getting away from that is the beauty of having good mates. It’s the little things that take you from a bad situation and make it into a positive.

"You’ve got to stay positive, that’s very true, but when you’re the person who at 3:30am is in agony and you can’t get out of bed because your pain is so bad, it’s not easy to stay positive."