Former England spinner Derek Underwood passes away

Derek Underwood, England's legendary spinner, passed away at 78, leaving behind a legacy of accuracy and skill.

Derek Underwood, England's best spinner in the post-World War II era, who gave a torrid time to the legendary Sunil Gavaskar, passed away at Kent on April 15. He was 78.

Underwood, a practitioner of slow left-arm orthodox spin, was highly regarded by his contemporaries because of his pin-point accuracy, something which made him 'Deadly' on uncovered pitches of the 60s and 70s.

The Bromley-man had numbers to match his reputation too — 297 wickets from 86 Tests, the most by an England spinner, and in a First-Class career that spanned 24 years he took 2,465 wickets.

But the numbers told only a part of the story. One of Underwood's finest moments on the field came in 1977 when he took 29 wickets to help England beat India 3-1 in a five-match series.

It was the Three Lions' first series win on these shores since their victory in the 1933-34 tour under the legendary Douglas Jardine.

Hedley Verity, another crafty left-arm spinner, was the architect of that triumph, taking 24 wickets across three Tests.

Four decades down the line, Underwood kept the legacy of Verity intact in the company of pacer John Lever, who took 24 wickets to support his spin colleague ably.