Former Kent and England bowling legend Derek Underwood MBE has been invited to succeed ex-England captain Mike Brearley as president of the MCC from September.

Known universally in the game as 'Deadly' because of his naggingly accurate left-arm spinners, Underwood is also a former president of the county club and a member of their cricket committee.

Following the announcement at the MCC's annual meeting, Underwood said: "I am deeply honoured to have been asked to be president of MCC, which is one of the greatest accolades in cricket.

"I enjoyed a successful playing career with both Kent and England and since my retirement have remained closely involved with Kent cricket.

"I look forward immensely to my year in office and hopefully contributing to the development of our great game."

Born in Bromley, Underwood made his first-class debut for Kent in 1963 and was capped the following summer.

In a career spanning 24 years, he took 1,951 wickets for the county placing him third amongst the most successful bowlers in the club's history.

He won 86 Test caps between 1966 and 1981-82, taking 297 Test wickets and also went on to play 26 One-Day Internationals.