Derek Underwood
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 England (Eng) |
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| Batting style | Right-hand bat | |
|---|---|---|
| Bowling type | Left-arm orthodox spin; Left-arm medium | |
| Tests | ODIs | |
| Matches | 86 | 26 |
| Runs scored | 937 | 53 |
| Batting average | 11.56 | 5.88 |
| 100s/50s | -/- | -/- |
| Top score | 45* | 17 |
| Balls bowled | 21862 | 1278 |
| Wickets | 297 | 32 |
| Bowling average | 25.83 | 22.93 |
| 5 wickets in innings | 17 | - |
| 10 wickets in match | 6 | n/a |
| Best bowling | 8/51 | 4/44 |
| Catches/stumpings | 44/- | 6/- |
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As of 1 January 2006 |
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Derek Leslie Underwood is an English former international cricketer.
He was born in Bromley, London, (formerly Kent) on June 8, 1945 and educated at Beckenham and Penge Grammar School for Boys.
He was one of the foremost spin bowlers in the world for over a decade starting from the late 1960s. Not a classical spinner, Underwood bowled at around medium pace and was often unplayable on seaming English wickets, particularly "sticky wickets" on rain-affected uncovered pitches, earning his nickname "Deadly" and accounting for the saying that England would "carry Underwood like an umbrella, in case of rain". His inswinging "arm ball" was particularly noted for dismissing batsmen leg before wicket.
Underwood finished his career just 3 wickets short of 300 in Test cricket, at the excellent average of 25.83. He famously took the last 4 Australian wickets in 27 balls in the final half an hour at the end of the 5th Test in 1968, after a heavy thunderstorm on the fifth day had all but ended the match, to square an Ashes series that Australia were winning 1-0
He played county cricket for Kent. He made his debut for Kent aged 17 in 1963, and was the youngest player to take 100 first-class wickets in his first season of counnty cricket. He repeated this accomplishment a further 9 times. His batting was less accomplished, with a first-class average barely over 10 runs in 676 matches. He scored his first and only first-class century (111) at the age of 39, in his 591st first-class match.
He was one of five England cricketers (the others being Alan Knott, Dennis Amiss, Bob Woolmer and Tony Greig), to feature in Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket in the late 1970s, and toured South Africa in 1981-82.
He was awarded the MBE in 1981.
In 1997, he became Patron of the Primary Club.
In a Wisden article in 2004 he was selected by a highly respected panel as a member of England's greatest post-war XI. Wisden article
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