Thomas William John Goddard (1 October 1900 – 22 May 1966) was an English cricketer and the fifth-highest wicket taker in
first-class cricket
First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...
.
Biography
Born 1 October 1900 in
Gloucester
Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...
, Goddard joined
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean.
The county town is the city of Gl ...
in 1922 as a
fast bowler, Goddard met with so little success in his first six years that he was not re-engaged by Gloucestershire for 1928. However, determined to succeed, he joined the ground staff at
Lord's
Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...
and switched to
off spin
Off spin is a type of finger spin bowling in cricket. A bowler who uses this technique is called an off spinner. Off spinners are right arm, right-handed spin bowling, spin bowlers who use their fingers to spin the ball. Their normal Delivery (cr ...
. With his massive hands and steep bounce due to his height (about 190 centimetres or six feet three inches), he was an immediate success and Gloucestershire re-engaged him for 1929.
Even on the best of wickets Goddard was able to turn the ball substantially, and when the turf was worn or sticky he could spin to a remarkable degree. He earned a reputation as a voracious appealer,
a sworn enemy of batsmen.
Owing to his high trajectory, he could be easy to hit (it is estimated he was hit for 70
sixes
Sixes, home to approximately 14,540, is an unincorporated community in western Cherokee County, Georgia, United States, located about three miles west of Holly Springs and near the eastern shore of current-day Lake Allatoona. The community is l ...
a season between 1934 and 1938), and it is probable that this is why he was so expensive against the incomparable
1948 Australian side, and in some cases in county cricket. He played only once against Australia (in 1930) and only eight times against all countries – for much of Goddard's time,
Hedley Verity
Hedley Verity (18 May 1905 – 31 July 1943) was a professional cricketer who played for Yorkshire and England between 1930 and 1939. A slow left-arm orthodox bowler, he took 1,956 wickets in first-class cricket at an average of 14.90 ...
was the preferred England spin bowler, and it is often thought that
leg spin
Leg spin is a type of spin bowling in cricket. A leg spinner bowls right-arm with a wrist spin action. The leg spinner's normal delivery causes the ball to spin from right to left (from the bowler's perspective) when the ball bounces on the ...
ners rather than off spinners were favoured at this time in
Tests
Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to:
* Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities
Arts and entertainment
* ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film
* ''Test'' (2014 film), ...
. His successes in the matches he played (he took a
hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three.
Origin
The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...
against South Africa in 1938–39) suggests he might have done well with more opportunities. He finished with six hat-tricks, the same as Parker and only one less than the
all-time record of seven, held by
D. V. P. Wright of Kent.
In 1929, his first season as a spinner, he took 184 wickets, and over 140 in the following two years. With
Charlie Parker
Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...
, he formed the most lethal bowling combination in county cricket, and, aided by the brilliant batting and catching of
Wally Hammond
Walter Reginald Hammond (19 June 1903 – 1 July 1965) was an English first-class cricketer who played for Gloucestershire in a career that lasted from 1920 to 1951. Beginning as a professional, he later became an amateur and was appointed cap ...
, Gloucestershire had their most successful (though brief) era, finishing fourth
in 1929, second
in 1930 and second
in 1931.
Goddard was forced to become Gloucestershire's chief bowler when the seemingly ageless Parker finally declined for good in 1932. Except in 1934 and 1938 when injuries handicapped him, and in 1948 when he lost form, Goddard took over 150 wickets in every season between 1932 and 1949, heading the first-class bowling averages
in 1947 and
1949
Events
January
* January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022.
* January 2 – Luis ...
.
In 1937 and 1947 (aided in the latter case by a sand dressing on the
Bristol pitch that made the ball turn prodigiously), Goddard took 222 wickets for Gloucestershire, and fell two short of 250 wickets in all first-class matches in 1937 when he was one of the
Wisden Cricketers of the Year
The ''Wisden'' Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', based primarily on their "influence on the previous English season". The award began in 1889 with the naming ...
.
His haul of 206 wickets in the
1947 County Championship
1947 was the 48th season of County Championship cricket in England. It is chiefly remembered for the batting performances of Denis Compton and Bill Edrich who established seasonal records that, with the subsequent reduction in the number of fir ...
will forever stand as the last case of 200 wickets in a season in that competition. With much slower over-rates and fewer matches, few bowlers today can take a third as many wickets.
Among his best bowling feats for Gloucestershire were:
– 17 for 106 against Kent at
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
in 1939
– 16 for 99 against Worcestershire at Bristol in 1939
– 16 for 181 (10 for 113 in second innings) against Worcestershire at Cheltenham in 1937
– 15 for 107 (9 for 20 to finish match) on a "pitch of easy pace" against Derbyshire at Bristol in 1949.
– 9 for 37 against Leicestershire at Bristol in 1934
– 9 for 82 against Surrey at Cheltenham in 1946
– 9 for 21 against Cambridge University at Cheltenham in 1929
In 1951, at the age of fifty, Goddard was forced to retire due to an attack of
pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...
and
pleurisy,
but because he wanted so desperately to reach the 3,000-wicket mark, he came back for fourteen matches in 1952, even managing to pick up a ten-for, till at 51 years of age it became apparent his body could no longer support his immense will-power; he ended with 2,979 wickets, fifth on the
all-time wickets tally after
Wilfred Rhodes
Wilfred Rhodes (29 October 1877 – 8 July 1973) was an English professional cricketer who played 58 Test matches for England between 1899 and 1930. In Tests, Rhodes took 127 wickets and scored 2,325 runs, becoming the first Englishman t ...
,
‘Tich’ Freeman, Parker, and
Jack Hearne. He left Gloucestershire's off-spin heritage safe in the hands of
John Mortimore,
‘Bomber’ Wells, and
David Allen.
After he retired, Goddard ran a furniture shop in his home city of Gloucester, right up to a year before his death on 22 May 1966.
From his shop, Goddard provided an early cable television service to customers in Gloucester in the 1950s. This pioneering system offered a superior reception to that which was available from rooftop aerials in the city.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goddard, Tom
1900 births
1966 deaths
England Test cricketers
English cricketers
Gloucestershire cricketers
Players cricketers
Wisden Cricketers of the Year
Test cricket hat-trick takers
Cricketers from Gloucester
Cricketers who have taken ten wickets in an innings
Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers
English cricketers of 1919 to 1945
North v South cricketers
Marylebone Cricket Club South African Touring Team cricketers