A new biography of England spin king Derek Underwood and his relationship with the Kerry Packer organisation is reviewed by Eric Brown…
BY ERIC BROWN
There’s a common belief that you never forget where you were at significant moments like the assassination of John F Kennedy or man’s first landing on the moon.
Such moments sometimes occur in sport, with one example happening in south London in August 1968.
The scene at The Oval cricket ground resembled a marsh, with water at least an inch deep after torrential rain seemed to have washed out England’s chances of an Ashes win. Australia, reeling at 85 for 5, were already celebrating their final-day escape.
I was preparing to leave work at the London office of a provincial newspaper group when I spotted some Oval action on the screen of a tiny black-and-white television in a newsroom corner.
England captain Colin Cowdrey had persuaded spectators to join ground-staff in a successful mopping-up operation which left around 75 minutes of play possible.
What happened next kept me glued to the screen while several trains left London unencumbered by my presence.
England’s pace bowlers found it hard work on the sodden surface, and although Basil D’Oliveira removed Barry Jarman, it seemed Australia would hold out. That is until Cowdrey switched Kent county colleague Derek Underwood to the pavilion end.
When he removed John Gleeson, the BBC interrupted a news bulletin to return “live” to The Oval, where with six minutes left, Underwood trapped John Inverarity LBW to give England a share of the series and personal figures of 7 for 50.
A new biography of Underwood includes one of cricket’s most iconic photographs, with all 11 England players clustered around the bat appealing lustily as the umpire raises a finger.
Bromley-born Underwood earned a place among English cricket’s heroic figures not only for that feat but for many others performed during a long career.
Ironically, Underwood was often dismissed by critics for being a wet pitch bowler, and that Oval scenario only fuelled their adverse opinion. In Australia, he was labelled “the umbrella” to be carried around unused until it rained.
Yet this Mark Peel biography presents plenty of evidence to suggest the critics had it wrong.
Some of the statistics are barely believable. Underwood took 297 Test wickets and in a 25-year career, claimed more than 100 county championship wickets in 10 separate seasons, headed the national averages twice, including 1966 when he claimed a phenomenal 157 victims, and became the third youngest to capture 1,000 wickets at the age of 25. Surely they couldn’t have all come with the assistance of wet pitches?
Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar, dismissed 12 times by Underwood, had no doubts. He insisted: “Derek Underwood was one of the greatest bowlers. He could take wickets anywhere in any conditions.”
Certainly, Underwood’s bewildering mixture of left-arm spin and near-medium pace deliveries helped earn him his “Deadly” nickname on damp pitches where he was virtually unplayable.
But his clever variation bamboozled batsmen on all surfaces. It was often said that when Ray Illingworth captained England, he brought on Underwood early to toil away until dust started rising, then he would replace the Kent man to take wickets in more encouraging conditions.
Underwood was a quiet, unassuming man, modest about his own abilities, who always had time to offer advice for young players. He operated through Kent’s glory years of the 1970s when county championships and one-day crowns were won thanks to his miserly bowling.
He begrudged every run scored off him and became a dismissal machine in partnership with wicketkeeper Alan Knott, his friend since they attended Kent nets in Eltham together aged 12.
He was not the type to court controversy until joining the Kerry Packer circus made him a marked man in some English cricket circles. Underwood, says this book, had little alternative with a wife and two young daughters to support on the serf-like wages paid at the time.
Between 1973 and 1977, the cost of living rose 96 per cent while remuneration for an England cap at that time increased 40 per cent from £150 to £210. Basic pay for capped county players averaged £2,600 a season.
There were no proper pension schemes, and players could be freed at the end of a season without compensation. The Packer offer of around £40,000 over three seasons to join a rebel team of international cricket superstars meant family security. It was too good to reject when his basic Kent salary varied between £2,665 and £3,155 per season.
The repercussions from what some described as “defection” and “disloyalty” led to bans. How Underwood coped and fought his way back to become part of the cricket establishment is explained thoroughly by Mark Peel.
Peel produced biographies of Ray Illingworth, Ken Barrington and Douglas Jardine among his 17 previous books. This examination of the life of one of England’s most popular cricketers rates among his best.
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