Today was a sad day, as one of the legends for Kent and England cricket, Derek Underwood sadly passed away at the age of 78.
He was one club man, taking 4-40 on his debut at the age of 17 in 1963, and became the youngest player to take 100 wickets in their first season of county cricket.
He went on to play over 900 matches for Kent between 1963 and 1987, claiming 2,523 wickets at a staggering average of 19.04.
His nickname of Deadly was definitely true, especially on rain affected wickets, he became virtually unplayable, as Australia found out at the Oval test 1968, after fans had help to dry the outfield, he led England to victory to tie the series with only 6 minutes left of playing time.
He played 86 Tests for England and is still England leading spinner with 297 wickets at an average of 25.83 and 6th overall in the all-time England bowling list.
He received an MBE in 1981 for his services to cricket.
Then in 2011, a stand at Kent home ground Canterbury was named after Underwood & Knott, in recognition of their partnership for Kent and England – (CT or ST Knott b Underwood).
I remember watching him on TV and his line and length at the speed he bowled was incredible to watch, especially with Knott behind the stumps.
RIP Deadly, thank you for the memories and what partly got me into cricket.
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