by Arunabha Sengupta
Headingley, 1955. England 2-1 up in the series.
In his fourth Test, left-handed Trevor Goddard opens the batting as usual and scores 74 in the second innings.
When England bat in the final innings Neil Adcock is injured. Hence, it is Goddard who partners Peter Heine with his left-arm fast medium. Hugh Tayfield, the great off-spinner, picks up five wickets. It is Goddard who does the rest. 62-37-69-5. Incredible figures.
That is the way it remains. For the next decade and a half.
Goddard sedate and solid at the top of the order, with classically correct technique, partnering Jackie McGlew, then Eddie Barlow and finally even Barry Richards.
And when he departs, characteristically tucking his bat under his right arm-pit, his job is only half done.
He runs in, generally first change—after Adcock and Heine at the beginning and after Pollock and Procter in the end. When necessary he takes the new ball. His naggingly accurate left-arm medium pace chokes one end up. When he bowls in tandem with Tayfield, they form the most miserly combination ever.
He is brilliant as a close-in fielder as well, be it slip, short-leg or silly mid-on.
Cheetham, McGlew, Endean, McLean, Adcock, Heine, Tayfield, van Ryneveld… they all leave one by one. Goddard, apart from making runs and taking wickets, now has to sit on the hot seat for a while.
Peter van der Merwe takes over for him, and Goddard outlasts his career as well.
For almost a decade there remains a tiny gap in the career of this excellent all-rounder. At The Oval, 1960, he edges Statham to Cowdrey a run away from his hundred. That 99 remains his best score.
Finally at Wanderers, in January 1965, he pushes to short cover, Graeme Pollock backs up well, and the scampered single brings up his elusive century.
So excited are the scoreboard operators that 000 registers against Goddard’s name. The official scorers, including the trendsetting lady Test match scorer Miss Patricia Williams, have to draw attention to the error from the other side of the ground. The correction results in yet more ovation.
Five years later, another Test at Wanderers. South Africa are in the process of trouncing Australia. Here they bag the series, going up 3-0.
Goddard picks up the final three wickets. 24.5-16-27-3. Those are most Goddard-like figures. He has career economy rate of 1.64. No one with more than 30 Test wickets has been so miserly, before or since.
And suddenly, he discovers that his career is over.
As he showers and dresses, he is approached by the selectors. Pat Trimborn is to be tried out in the final Test. Since Goddard has made himself unavailable after the series, it is time to look ahead.
Just like that, a 15-year career comes to an end. Goddard is numb and keeps his head down. He blinks back tears and thinks: “That’s nice, after 15 years of loyal service that’s the way they drop you.” After a while, he is philosophical. “I wouldn’t be human if I did not say I was disappointed, but that’s life.”
Even Ali Bacher, who has just won his first series as captain, says with considerable emotion: “This was one of the saddest [days] since I first played Test cricket for South Africa.” Several Springbok players have tears in their eyes.
The selectors mouth the inane cliché of the game being bigger than the individual and “with the series won, we have got to think about the composition of our touring party for England.”
The tour to England never takes place. The next Test is the last South Africa will play for another 22 years. Goddard’s Test career ends a Test too soon.
Goddard ends with 123 wickets at 26.22. And then there are 2,516 runs at 34.46 and 48 catches. 74 of his 78 innings have been as an opening batsman. He is perhaps the most unsung of all-round greats of cricket.
He finds solace in God. His autobiography, Caught in the Deep, is all about the divine call and his answer. In December 1985, while driving alone near Graaff-Reinet, he falls asleep at the wheel and his car leaves the road and crashes. He sustained multiple injuries. It may be God, it may be faith. He recovers completely and lives for another 31 years.
Trevor Goddard was born on 1 August 1931.