Trevor Goddard dies aged 85

Trevor Goddard is congratulated by England captain Mike Smith for reaching his maiden Test century, in Johannesburg in 1965 © Getty Images

Former South Africa allrounder Trevor Goddard died aged 85 on Friday night. He had been in poor health for some time.

Goddard’s career spanned 41 Tests between 1955 and 1970; he scored 2516 runs and took 123 wickets. His only century came against England in 1965, while his economy rate of 1.64 remains the third best of all time.

Goddard captained South Africa on their tour to Australia in 1963-64, a series they drew. He also played in the 1969-70 series, won by South Africa at home, but his career came to an abrupt end after the third Test. By then, Goddard had announced his unavailability for the upcoming tour of England and with the series won, he was left out.

In all, Goddard played 179 first-class matches, largely for Natal, and scored 11289 runs at an average of 40.60 and took 534 wickets at 21.65 apiece.

After his cricket career, Goddard became an evangelist priest. He was severely injured in a car crash in 1985 but recovered and continued his religious work.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.


Source: ESPN Crickinfo

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