One of the greatest England Test bowlers of all time paid tribute yesterday to Bermuda's own Dwayne (Sluggo) Leverock.

Left- arm orthodox spinner Derek Underwood - who claimed 297 Test wickets between 1966 and 1982 - yesterday described the larger than life Leverock as a charismatic figure with an uncanny ability to dismiss the best batsmen the world has to offer.

"I hadn't seen him until the World Cup but he seems like quite a character and bowls left arm around the wicket like myself," Underwood, who is vacationing in Bermuda, said.

"I was very interested to see him bowl and thought he bowled quite well. He pitched it up and spun the ball very well."

Incidentally, Leverock's own rise to fame started earlier this year against England in a World Cup warm-up played in St. Vincent where the Southampton Rangers cricketer snared the prized wickets of star batsmen Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood.

"What a character . . . . those were some genuinely good players he got out," Underwood acknowledged.

Leverock returned the compliment.

"Derek Underwood was one of those spin bowlers I always looked up to. He used to bowl from a long run up and always had the ability to make the batsmen play. He also had good control of the ball," Leverock said.

Underwood is no stranger to the Island, having toured Bermuda in 1968 with a star-studded Cricketers Club of London squad that included the likes of late pacer Freddie Trueman, leg spinner Ken Barrington and West Indian all rounder Sir Gary Sobers.

"We were here for ten days or so and I remember Clarence Parfitt taking a lot of wickets in a match we lost against Bermuda at Somerset," recalled Underwood, who also toured the Bermuda in 1975 with England. "We played on a concrete -based wicket with matting on it, which we weren't used to playing on in those days.

"But Bermuda won the match and obviously everyone here was delighted. We were supposed to be the top dogs but obviously we weren't because Bermuda played very well."

Underwood debuted in the Test arena at a young age and quickly discovered just how tough life can be at the top.

"I'd only been playing four or five years straight from school with my county (Kent) when I had the opportuinity to play Test cricket at the age of 21, which is very young of course," the 1969 Wisden cricketer of the year recalled. "I didn't have a very good start to my Test career as Gary Sobers and maybe one or two other players sorted me out. But I think that helped me a bit because I soon realised that if I was going to play at this level then I had to work hard at it.

"So I practised a lot and remained encouraged as a bowler and was very fortunate to play Test cricket for 16 years, which is very unusual."

In a twist of irony, it was Underwood who had the last say in a battle with the legendary Sobers, claiming the West Indian's prized wicket during his final Test appearance at the Queen's Park Oval in Port of Spain, Trinidad in 1974.

"I was lucky enough to get him out in his last Test match because he always hit me all over the park over the years we played against each other," Underwood smiled. "But on this occasion he played over the top of a straight ball, missed it and was out bowled. And we went on to win that Test match by 18 runs and level the series against the West Indies."

During his Test career Underwood formed formidable bowling partnerships with the likes of off spinner Ray Illingworth and medium pacer Tony Greig. And like many in the UK these days he is also a big supporter of England's current left-arm spinner Monty Panesar.

"Monty is a top drawer bowler who will only get better because he is maturing all the time," he said. "He has certainly caught the public's eye and is very popular in England which is terrific to see because hopefully future spinners will be encouraged by that."

Underwood is also a big fan of the many variations of limited overs cricket has to offer - but understands the important roles longer versions such as open or Test cricket play in the overall development of aspiring cricketers.

"I wouldn't like to see cricket completely rest on Twenty20 because there are other forms (of the game) that have their place. I myself prefer the 50 overs game because it's a little more orthodox and I know that I am going to see everyone bat," he said. "Fifty overs cricket is a different paced game and rather than just seeing every ball disappear out of the park, like you do in Twenty20 cricket, you actually get to see a genuine game of cricket with all the ups and downs and things unfolding a little bit more.

"But I would also like to see as much four-day cricket being played in England and around the world because that's where players learn their trade."

Yet while Underwood has an appreciation for limited overs cricket, he also fears that placing heavy emphasis on shorter variations of the game could have a detrimental effect on the development of future generations of spin bowlers.

"Twenty20 cricket, for example, is not easy for spinners to try an spin, drop it short or bowl a full toss. It's not easy to develop a bowler in Twenty20 cricket. To me it is probably tougher for the spinner to bowl economically and keep their run rate down than it is for a faster bowler," he argued.

"So I don't think today's trend of cricket favours the development of slower bowlers, which is alarming because most counties in England now only play one spinner in their teams whereas 20 years ago every team had two.

"But whatever form of cricket is going to be put before the public you have to learn to accept and adapt to it as best you possibly can. And in order to become a top spinner you have to be very disciplined and also prepared to spend many hours bowling in the nets."