Name: Derek Underwood MBE Service of Thanksgiving
Start: 2025-03-04T11:00:00+00:00
Location: Canterbury Cathedral

Derek Underwood MBE Service of Thanksgiving

Kent Cricket can confirm that a Memorial Service will be held at Canterbury Cathedral on Tuesday 4 March, to remember the remarkable life of Derek Underwood MBE, and to give thanks for his contribution to cricket and multiple charities, following his passing in April 2024.
A staunch one-club man, Derek made his first-team debut aged 17 against Yorkshire – finishing his first stint with the ball as a first-class cricketer with figures of 4-40. He went on to become the youngest bowler to take 100 wickets in his initial season.
Derek would go on to make over 900 appearances for Kent across three decades, from 1963-1987, taking a remarkable 2,523 wickets at an average of just 19.04.
He retired from the game in 1987, having won three County Championships, two One-Day Cups, three National Leagues and three Benson & Hedges Cups as a Kent cricketer.
He was named President of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in 2008, after serving as Kent Cricket’s Club President in 2006, and was inducted into the ICC’s Cricket Hall of Fame in 2009.
The registration process to apply for tickets has now ended. Successful applicants will be advised via email week commencing 10 February.
Please note, registering does not guarantee a place at the event; if it is over-subscribed, applicants will be selected by random draw.
More details will follow in the New Year.
Kent Cricket’s Chair, Jamie Clifford, said: “Derek was one of the finest cricketers to have played for Kent and for England. After his playing career, his involvement with the Lord’s Taverners, the Primary Club, and other cricketing charities demonstrated how much he believed in the power of the game to improve the lives of others.
“We are grateful for the support of the Dean, the Very Reverend Dr David Monteith, and his team at Canterbury Cathedral and look forward to coming together in March with Derek’s family, friends, former teammates, and others that knew him well, to remember his life, his many achievements and his considerable contribution to his beloved county of Kent.”