Derek Underwood: Former England and Kent spinner dies aged 78 | Cricket news

Former England and Kent spinner Derek Underwood has died aged 78, the province has announced.

Underwood was capped 86 times by England in Test matches during a playing career that began in 1963 and ended in 1987, and his 297 wickets are the sixth most by a player in the history of the national team.

At domestic level he was a one-club player and took 2,523 wickets in his thirty years playing for Kent, winning three County Championships, two One-Day Cups, three National Leagues and three Benson & Hedges Cups.

“The Kent Cricket family is in mourning following the death of one of their greatest ever players,” said county chairman Simon Philip.

“Derek made an outstanding contribution to both Kent and England, winning trophies for club and country and etching his name in the history books forever.

“Watching Derek weave his unique magic on a wet wicket was a privilege for all who were able to witness it. His induction into the ICC Hall of Fame shows the appreciation he received in world cricket.

“Advocating for the global growth of our game while protecting the rich heritage of our sport, Derek has also made substantial contributions both off and on the field and will be greatly missed by everyone at Kent Cricket.”

Underwood, affectionately known as 'Deadly', made his Kent debut as a 17-year-old and became the youngest bowler to take 100 wickets in his debut season, including 4-40 in his first innings.

Known as a master of uncovered pitches, he first played for his country at Test level as a 21-year-old in 1966 and made his last international appearance in 1982. He also played 26 in one-day internationals and took 32 wickets.

No other spinner has taken more Test wickets for England and his record tally would have been even higher had he not decided to play in Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket and the first Rebels tour of South Africa.

However, he is still 42 wickets ahead of his nearest rival among spinners, Graeme Swann.

After retiring from playing, Underwood was appointed MCC president in 2008, after serving as Kent's president in 2006, and was inducted into the ICC's Cricket Hall of Fame in 2009.

In 2011, the Annexe Stand at Kent's home ground in Canterbury was renamed the Underwood and Knott Stand in recognition of his and his former club and country teammate Alan Knott's contributions to the province.

Atherton: Underwood's greatest spinner in England, and a different type than today

Sky Sports Cricket's Michael Atherton…

“Undeniably a great cricketer for England. He is still England's leading wicket-taker as a spinner: 297 Test match wickets.

“Bowling at a time when people, when they think of Derek Underwood, think of bare pitches. He was a fast spinner who bowled at a fast pace, and on pitches that were dry he was said to be virtually unplayable.

“You think spinners are quite slow and flighty. But because of the conditions at the time, he ran quite a long run up and bowled it in a sort of cutter fashion, rather than someone who would fly it and try to put people in the to hit air.

“If you speak to someone like Ian Chappell, who was a contemporary and would have played against Underwood for Australia in the Ashes, he would say that Derek Underwood was one of the toughest bowlers he played against.

“It was very difficult to get onto the field because he was bowling so fast, so you felt a bit pinned down and confined in the crease.

“There's that famous photo at the end of the 1968 Ashes Test match at The Oval, when it was raining, they dried the pitch and all the men were there when England won with about six minutes to spare.

“He is at the top of the list when it comes to leading wicket-takers and I think he is generally regarded as England's best spinner.

“Different conditions, different type of bowler to someone like Graeme Swann, but when you think of England's all-time spinners in Test cricket, Underwood is right at the top of the tree.”