Derek Underwood

Personal information

Full name

Derek Leslie Underwood

Born

8 June 1945 (age 71)
Bromley, Kent, England

Nickname

Deadly

Batting style

Right-handed

Bowling style

Slow left arm orthodox
Left arm medium

Role

Bowler

International information

National side

England

Test debut (cap 433)

30 June 1966 v West Indies

Last Test

17 February 1982 v Sri Lanka

ODI debut (cap 20)

18 July 1973 v New Zealand

Last ODI

14 February 1982 v Sri Lanka

Domestic team information

Years

Team

1963–1987

Kent

Career statistics

Competition	Tests	ODI	FC	LA
Matches	86	26	676	411
Runs scored	937	53	5,165	815
Batting average	11.56	5.88	10.12	7.02
100s/50s	–/–	–/–	1/2	–/–
Top score	45*	17	111	28
Balls bowled	21,862	1,278	139,783	19,825
Wickets	297	32	2,465	572
Bowling average	25.83	22.93	20.28	19.40
5 wickets in innings	17	–	153	8
10 wickets in match	6	n/a	47	n/a
Best bowling	8/51	4/44	9/28	8/31
Catches/stumpings	44/–	6/–	261/–	108/–

Source: Cricinfo, 25 March 2008

Derek Leslie Underwood MBE (born 8 June 1945) is an English former international cricketer, and a former President of the MCC.

Underwood was one of the foremost spin bowlers in the world for over a decade, starting from the late 1960s. Not a classical left-arm spinner, Underwood bowled at around medium pace and was often unplayable on seaming English wickets, particularly sticky wickets, 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 is noted for his consistent accuracy and Keith Dunstan wrote that he "is inclined to wear a hole in the pitch by dropping the ball on the same spot...".

Underwood was a first-class bowler from his teens, and he took his 100th Test wicket and 1,000th first-class wicket in 1971, aged only 25. Only George Lohmann and Wilfred Rhodes had secured a thousand wickets at an earlier age than Underwood. He used to say that bowling was a 'low mentality profession: plug away, line and length, until there's a mistake', and sooner or later every batsman would make a mistake.

Underwood finished his career just three wickets short of 300 in Test cricket, at an average of 25.83. He took the last four Australian wickets in 27 balls in the final half an hour at the end of the fifth 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 also toured Australia in 1970–71, dismissing Terry Jenner to win the seventh Test at Sydney, and regain the Ashes.

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