Deadly Derek

There are some humourous and often applicable nicknames in cricket but none more appropriate than lsquoDeadlyrsquo Derek UnderwoodDerek was a deadly accurate bowler and a fierce competitor who sadly died recently from dementia complications Despite being a feared competitor Underwood was a respected opponentAlwaysmdashand I mean every nightmdashUnderwood was available for an afterplay drink in the dressing room When it came to cricket two of his main loves were bowling and beerHardest spinner to tackleHe employed an extraordinarily long runup for a spinner and operated nearer mediumpace than that of a slow bowler but boy he was accurate Too speedy to use your feet to and difficult to drive he was the hardest spinner to score off that I played againstRighthanded batsmen had to scrounge for every run The highly skilled West Indian Viv Richards was one of the few righthanders who had the courage and the skill to loft him over coverNevertheless batsmen had one thing in their favourmdashUnderwood wore his heart on his sleeve You knew when Underwood was pissed off and he was most aggrieved by the sweep shotDerek the smart oneHaving retired from firstclass cricket I shared a London cab with lsquoDeadlyrsquo in 1977 when only the players knew about the existence of the highly secretive World Series Cricket WSC Without divulging much I said to Derek ldquoItrsquos on again materdquo Underwood knew exactly what I meant and forthrightly replied ldquoThat bloody broommdashI thought Irsquod seen the last of itrdquoThe broom was a reference to my penchant for sweeping Underwood I discovered that was one of the few ways to score off him and it annoyed lsquoDeadlyrsquo He was deservedly pissed off at the Oval in 1972 but for an entirely different reason A West Indies supporter of Australia in that game constantly called out when Underwood was operating ldquoBad wicket bowler Donrsquot let him get you outrdquoIn his selfdeprecating manner Underwood described spin bowling as ldquoLow mentality profession Plug away line and length until therersquos a mistakerdquoAs a batsman lsquoDeadlyrsquo was not the most gifted but he was determined He and Englandrsquos Tony Greig had a useful partnership at the Gabba in the first Test of the 197475 Ashes before I turned to our lsquoGolden Armrsquo Doug WaltersWalters dismissed Underwood first ball but when we gleefully congratulated the bowler he produced a typically smart aleck retort ldquoA lesser batsman wouldnrsquot have got a bat on itrdquoHowever it was Underwoodrsquos bowling that deservedly gained him a glowing reputation On dampish pitches he was nigh unplayable and his ally Alan Knott was a master wicketkeeper especially on treacherous pitches Underwood specialised in the superman ballmdashup up and awaymdashbut Knott in typically expert fashion handled a difficult task easilyIt was on such a pitch that he took the first seven Australian wickets at the Adelaide Oval in 1975 Gritty opener Ian Redpath battled his backside off but eventually was incorrectly given out in the final over before lunch Sitting in the dressing room an exasperated Redpath spat on his bat but despite the mirth of the moment it was an engaging sight to watch two highly competitive players involved in such a herculean struggleIn 197576 a mixed team of Australians and cricketers from other countries played in an International Wanderers tour to South Africa captained by brother Greg Chappell and managed by the revered Richie Benaud A dignitary at a cocktail function in Soweto welcomed the ldquoAustralianrdquo team to the city so I went to Underwood and said ldquoCongratulations on finally representing a good teamrdquoHis answer was unprintable but it definitely included ldquopiss offrdquoWorld Series Cricket daysUnderwood later signed for WSC and also represented England on the 198182 rebel tour of South Africa His defiant decisions were a mark of Underwoodrsquos singlemindedness but also his belief that a professional cricketer should be paid his worthIn a distinctive life after retiring from cricket the universally popular Underwood was appointed President of the MCC in 2008 It was a privilege to compete against such a tough but exemplary opponent