Cricket: England spinner Derek Underwood, who dismissed Gavaskar 12 times in Tests, passes away

Derek Underwood, England's best spinner since the Second World War, died on Monday at the age of 78. Underwood, who troubled the great Indian batsman Sunil Gavaskar with his bowling, was extremely dangerous to play on the pitches of the 60s and 70s. Known for his disciplined line-length bowling, Underwood took 297 wickets in 86 Test matches, the most by any spinner for England. Underwood took 2465 wickets in his 24-year first-class career. He took 29 wickets in five Test matches against India in 1977. England won the tournament 3–1 and it was England's first tournament since the 1933–34 tour. Underwood dismissed Gavaskar a maximum of 12 times in Test cricket. Imran Khan of Pakistan and Michael Holding of West Indies took the wicket of Gavaskar 11 times each. Underwood also took 32 wickets in 26 ODI matches. In a career spanning three decades, Underwood played more than 900 matches and took 572 wickets in 411 List-A matches. Underwood was known as 'Deadly' in English cricket.