Derek Underwood, England's greatest spin bowler, dies aged 78 | Cricket

Derek Underwood, the great left-armer from Kent affectionately nicknamed Deadly, has passed away at the age of 78.

The news, announced on Monday afternoon by Kent, for whom Underwood played for his entire 24-year first-class career and made more than 900 appearances, prompted Richard Thompson, chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board, to pay tribute to one of the greatest spin bowlers this country has ever produced.

Underwood remains the most prolific spinner to represent England in history, claiming 297 wickets at an average of 25.8 from 86 Tests between 1966 and 1982 to rank sixth in the country's all-time charts. The International Cricket Council's (ICC) retrospective rankings show that Underwood was the No. 1 Test bowler in the world for a four-year period from 1969.

The first-class figures are also notable, with Underwood claiming 2,465 wickets (plus 572 in List A cricket) after crossing the 1,000 mark at the age of 25. He also took 100 wickets in a county season 10 times, the first of which comes from these achievements. in his debut summer, at age 17. In total, he won three County Championships, three John Player League titles, two Gillette Cups and three Benson & Hedges Cups in Kent.

However, the numbers, which include 153 five-wicket hauls in first-class cricket, only tell part of the story. It wasn't just the volume, but the methods that made Underwood shine. His left-arm finger spin, executed from a long run-up and at a brisk, almost medium pace, was based on metronomic accuracy and the ability to exploit the slightest hint of assistance.

Underwood's stamina, bowling girl after girl, was clearly immense, as was his desire to suffocate his opponents. He hated it when a batsman singled because a fielder fell asleep, Geoffrey Boycott wrote in 2017. He glared at you. Derek had such a strong mind that he could bowl to win matches or draw.

Underwood's challenge was turned up to 11 when, in the era of uncovered fields, rain was followed by sunshine and the topsoil began to resemble plasticine. The most famous example occurred on the final day of the fifth Ashes Test in 1968 when, after a storm at the Oval, and with spectators involved in a hasty clearing operation, Underwood destroyed Australia's last four wickets to draw the series with only six minutes left.

He was given just enough help to be virtually unplayable, read the report in Wisden in subsequent years on his analysis of seven for 50 in the fourth innings. The ball almost stopped on the throw and was lifted to the dismay of the helpless Australians…no The praise could be too high for the way he seized his opportunity on this unforgettable day.

It was a scene famously repeated at Hastings in 1973, when the Kent players took off their boots and socks to help the local fire brigade dry a saturated outfield and Underwood then tore through Sussex with match-winning figures of eight for nine. . The following summer, when rain leaked through the covers during the second Test against Pakistan at Lords, he conjured a spell of six for two.

Not that Underwood relied solely on boggy conditions for his most powerful spells. This thing about uncovered pitches was a misconception in many ways, he said in an interview with ESPNCricinfo in 2015. Over the course of a season, we can reach a maximum of one or two. There were wet summers, but then you couldn't get onto the damn field at all!

This was evident in his work abroad, not least by taking 54 Test wickets in India. That is some 26 more than the next highest English spinners, Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann, and was only recently overtaken by Nathan Lyon (56) among visitors from any country. In Australia, where lack of innings forced him to vary his flight, he took 50 wickets, including 16 when Ray Illingworth's side regained the Ashes in 1970-71.

In the era before the Decision Review System, an era when opposing batters could get forward with their defensive cushion, only 24 of his 297 Test victims were caught with their leg in front of the wicket. As Underwood himself noted, the ball really had to fall over halfway before the referee could raise his finger in approval.

Regardless, Underwood's place in the pantheon was assured and in the 2004 edition of Wisden, a panel of six former captains named him in England's greatest post-war eleven. Fittingly, the side's wicketkeeper was the silk-gloved Alan Knott, with whom Underwood had formed an almost telepathic partnership for both club and country.

A gentle character in every respect, contrary to the nickname. Underwood's return to England could have been even bigger, but the bans that followed his late-career appearances in World Series Cricket and a rebel tour of South Africa meant the opportunities were too lucrative to turn around. at a time when players were vastly underpaid.

Underwood was awarded an MBE in 1981 for services to cricket. In 2006, Underwood was president of Kent and in 2009 Marylebone Cricket Club (the same year he was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame) before retiring from public life in recent years. is diagnosed with dementia. He is survived by his wife Dawn and two daughters.