1. Derek Leslie Underwood was an English international cricketer.
23 Facts About Derek Underwood
1. 2.
Derek Underwood was often unplayable on seaming English wickets, particularly sticky wickets, earning his nickname 'Deadly'.
3.
Derek Underwood was a first-class bowler from his teens and took his 100th Test wicket and 1,000th first-class wicket in 1971, aged only 25.
4.
On 16 July 2009, Derek Underwood was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.
5.
Derek Underwood was born in Bromley Maternity Hospital, the second son of Leslie Frank Derek Underwood and Evelyn Annie Wells.
6.
Derek Underwood was educated at Beckenham and Penge Grammar School for Boys and in 1961 he took all ten wickets for the school's first XI, of which his brother was the captain, against Bromley Grammar School.
7.
Derek Underwood played county cricket for Kent, making his first-class debut against Yorkshire aged 17 in 1963.
8.
Derek Underwood became the youngest player to take 100 County Championship wickets in a debut season.
9.
Derek Underwood went on to take 100 wickets in a season a further nine times.
10.
Derek Underwood's batting was less accomplished, averaging barely over ten runs per innings in 676 matches.
11.
Derek Underwood remained at Kent for 24 years, the whole of his first-class career.
12.
Derek Underwood was named in 1969 as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year.
13.
Derek Underwood reached a peak rating of 907 after his 12-wicket haul against New Zealand in the 1971 series.
14.
Derek Underwood was noted for his consistent accuracy, and his inswinging arm ball was particularly noted for dismissing batsmen leg before wicket.
15.
Derek Underwood 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.
16.
Derek Underwood was one of six England cricketers, to feature in Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket in the late 1970s.
17.
Derek Underwood was almost unplayable on damp wickets, but on dry tracks he would often push the ball through a little quicker and flatter, not wanting to risk being hit over his head, which he always hated.
18.
Derek Underwood retired from cricket in 1987, at the age of 42, having taken 2,465 wickets at a little over 20 apiece.
19.
Derek Underwood was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 1981 New Year Honours for services to cricket.
20.
Derek Underwood was appointed an honorary fellow of Canterbury Christ Church University at a ceremony held at Canterbury Cathedral on 30 January 2009.
21.
Derek Underwood married Dawn Sullivan in October 1973 and they had two daughters.
22.
Derek Underwood became a consultant for ClubTurf Cricket Limited, joining his brother Keith who had become managing director.
23.
On 15 April 2024, Derek Underwood died from complications of dementia at the age of 78.