Biography

If one thought that Anil Kumble bowled at a pace that was totally unbecoming of a spinner, one had to watch Derek Underwood. On uncovered wickets – which had borne a little rain - Underwood’s pacy, spinning deliveries left the batsmen bamboozled. There was a saying about him which went, “carry Underwood like an umbrella, in case of rain”, and it could not be more true than that.

Underwood’s 297 wickets came at a very good average of less than 26, and his consistency can be found from the fact that his home and away average barely differed by a run or so. In fact, his average against a team like India, which has been traditionally a strong team playing against spinners, is less than 28, again very similar to his overall average. Consistency was definitely Underwood’s forte.

Underwood unfortunately ended three wickets short of the 300 wicket mark, and this was due to association with WSC and Kerry Packer to begin with, and then went to South Africa which was an unauthorized tour again. That effectively ended Underwood’s career, though he was still selected as one of the Greatest English Post War cricketers, joining others like Len Hutton and Ian Botham in the list.