Next MCC President: Derek Underwood

Date released: 8 May 2008

Next MCC President, Derek Underwood Derek Underwood will serve as the next President of Marylebone Cricket Club. His one-year term of office will begin on 1st October 2008 – forty years after he first became an MCC Member.

The announcement of his appointment was made at Lord's during MCC's Annual General Meeting by Mike Brearley - the current Club President.

Derek Underwood’s contribution to cricket is impressive. He was the leading spin bowler in England for around 20 years and since retirement from the professional game has worked in cricket administration. He became an Honorary Life Member of MCC in 1993 and served as President of Kent County Cricket Club in 2006.

Underwood began his career in sensational fashion when he became the youngest player to take 100 wickets in a debut season. He would go on to repeat this feat on nine further occasions in his county career.

Playing in 86 Test matches, Underwood took 297 wickets at an average of 25, conceding runs at the rate of 2.1 per over. He also played in 26 One Day Internationals. In a 24-year County career, he took 1,951 wickets for Kent, making him the third most successful bowler in their history.

Current MCC President Mike Brearley Introducing his successor, Brearley quoted John Woodcock’s description of Derek Shackleton’s bowling as applying equally to “Deadly” Derek Underwood:

“Long hops and full tosses were not so much few and far between when he was bowling as almost unknown”.

The sitting President then paid tribute to the man whom he first captained on an MCC Under-25 tour to Pakistan in 1966/67:

“He was a distinguished cricketer and has since worked hard within cricket administration. He is a gentle man, conscientious and considerate, but also tough. It gives me great pleasure to nominate Derek Underwood as President of MCC for 2008/09.”