THERE'S the flipper, the zooter and the slider. Gareth Batty is perfecting his own mystery ball -- the 'stuta' -- to leave opposing batsmen in knots.

And Worcestershire's leading spinner hopes to soon unleash the delivery, that turns the other way from the conventional off-break, after months of fine-tuning.

In a bid to improve his game by '20 to 30 percent', Batty believes he needs an extra weapon in his artillery to regain his position at the top of England's spin department.

After firmly establishing himself as number one replacement to Ashley Giles in the Test side, he now suddenly finds himself out of the immediate reckoning following his snub from the winter tour to Pakistan.

The 27-year-old was selected for the ECB academy, but a ticket to the subcontinent instead fell into the laps of Warkwickshire's Alex Loudon and Hampshire campaigner Shaun Udal.

Both newcomers trail Batty in terms of Test experience and in sheer weight of wickets over the past few County seasons, but they bring diversity to the table.

Loudon reputedly has the 'doosra' in his locker, while Udal, with help at the Rose Bowl from spin-master Shane Warne, has brushed up on the top-spin delivery.

"There's things that I'm working on to be the finished article," admits Batty. "Things that will improve my game by 20 to 30 percent.

"I'm bowling a different delivery and it's something I'm trying to perfect. It requires a slight change in technique, but it's coming together.

"It's just a ball that will spin the other way from the conventional delivery, called the stuta. Obviously, it means a bit of difference to my action and it can mess with your rhythm.

"It's not an overnight thing. It's something I've worked on for a while in the nets and a lot of them are coming out well. But I've not wanted to bowl it too much in a game situation.

"I'm going to keep practicing and practicing, but it is very close to completion.

"It was disappointing to miss out on the full England shake-up. Although in a way, if I was analysing things, it is good that I've now got two or three months coming up where I can nail this down in preparation for next year."

By his own admission, Bradford-born Batty has not enjoyed the best of seasons.

After being accustomed to snaring 50 first-class victims for Worcestershire in recent campaigns, which helped elevate him to the international scene, it is a huge disappointment for the Yorkshireman that he fell a long way short of the milestone in 2005.

Injuries played their part as he struggled for consistency, but Batty is not happy reeling out the excuse book for an under-productive summer.

He added: "I've had two or three hand injuries and I played a couple of games where I was not totally fit. But those are things that people play through all the time and I don't want to make any excuses.

"I've not played as many games as I had done in previous years. I was looking to take 50 wickets, that's the milestone I aim for. I've taken 50 wickets in the last three seasons and no other English spinner has done that.

"It's not been a great season for me, but it's also not been as bad as it's sometimes made out."