SHAUN UDAL has confessed that he didn't work hard enough to stay at the top when he first broke into the England set-up.

The 36-year-old off-spinner flies out to Pakistan on Monday with the rest of England's victorious Ashes squad for three Tests.

Udal completed the finest few months of his cricketing career when he was a surprise selection for the touring party behind No 1 spinner Ashley Giles.

Just a few weeks earlier he had skippered Hampshire to their first domestic honour for 13 years, the C & G Trophy at Lord's.

Udal first broke into the England one-day team back in 1994 at the age of just 25.

But he failed to make a real impact in ten internationals. But, in an exclusive interview published in tonight's Pink, Udal is refreshingly honest when assessing that period of his career.

"I thought I had made it and I got carried away with it," he says.

"I didn't work as hard to stay at the top as I should have done. I didn't concentrate on my cricket as I should have done.

"Yes, there have been time when I have thought: 'How has so and so been picked ahead of me?'

"Sometimes it has rankled with me."

Udal added: "The older you are, the more you know yourself. You know your own game. One thing I don't do any more is panic in pressure situations.

"I feel fitter now than I I did during the late 1990s. I go training a lot more - you can't be up until 2am and expect to perform."

Don't miss the Pink, on sale tonight, where Udal also talks about Shane Warne, Hampshire, and how his family have helped put cricket in perspective.