Famous Cricketers No 85 - Derek Underwood

DEREK UNDERWOOD Derek Leslie Underwood was born in Bromley Maternity Hospital on 8th June 1945, the second son of Leslie Frank Underwood and Evelyn Annie Wells. The family home was at 21 Daewood Close, Bromley Common. Derek’s early days were spent watching his father, a right-handed medium pace bowler, playing for Farnborough Cricket Club where his older brother Keith also appeared. Underwood attended Dulwich College Preparatory School where his cricketing ambitions were encouraged by the sports master, Mr.T.F.Merritt. This included visits to Kennington Oval where Surrey were at the height of their considerable powers and also to the famous 1953 Ashes Test at that venue. On one occasion he took nine wickets for ten runs for Dulwich Under 10s against Corshorn. He moved on to Beckenham and Penge Grammar School in 1958 where his feats included scoring 96 against the staff and in 1961 all ten wickets versus Bromley Grammar School. His brother Keith was captain of the school side at this time, Derek having made it into the first eleven at the age of fourteen in 1959. By this time he was also playing regularly for Farnborough Town. After attending an indoor cricket school at Croydon he came to the attention of Ken Barrington and Tony Lock and the latter recommended him through Leslie Todd to Kent who gave him a trial at Canterbury. He played for the Kent Schools Cricket Association and joined Beckenham Cricket Club. He had trials with Kent in 1961 and at the age of sixteen was asked to join the county club. After his GCE results he subsequently decided to commence a professional career in 1962 and played his first second eleven match on 7th May against Hampshire on the Old Dunstonians ground at Beckenham making a most promising debut with a match analysis of nine wickets for sixty runs. Altogether that season he took 42 wickets in fourteen competitive appearances in the Second XI Championship. It was not to be long before Underwood made his first-class debut which was at the beginning of the following season. He was not quite eighteen when he appeared for Kent against the reigning County Champions at Hull taking four wickets in the Yorkshire first innings. Further successes followed through the season including three hauls of five or more in an innings and he finished the summer with 101 wickets in his debut season becoming the eleventh and youngest player to complete this rare feat. He will surely also be the last ever unless the structure of first-class cricket undergoes a radical change. Derek Underwood’s second season was one of consolidation and he had some very impressive returns of bowling including a best ever analysis of nine wickets for twenty-eight runs at Hastings, always a favourite ground of his. He again finished with 101 wickets and was awarded his county cap in August during the match against the Australians at Canterbury, the second youngest Kent player to receive this honour. Further successes followed in 1965 and he achieved his first ten or more wickets in a match in the game against Warwickshire at Edgbaston. In 1966 he became the first bowler to reach 100 first-class wickets and finished the season with 157 victims. He made his Test match debut on 30th June at the tender age of twenty-one against the all-conquering West Indians but only managed to take one wicket in 69 overs in his two appearances. Highlights of his season included five hauls of ten or more wickets in a match with nine in an innings for the second time in the Essex game at Westcliff-on-Sea. During the winter Underwood made his first trip overseas with the MCC Under 25 team to Pakistan. He did not find the wickets at all conducive to his brand of spin bowling and in six games only managed to take thirteen wickets at the expensive cost of thirty-one runs each. 4