Trevor Goddard

Trevor Goddard , the South African cricketer, who has died aged 85, was one of the finest all-rounders of the 1950s and 1960s. If he had been less modest, his talents might have been better recognised. Yet he lacked for nothing in steely competitiveness: whatever he attempted he usually achieved. This applied both to his cricket, and to his subsequent career as an evangelical preacher.

A lanky 6 ft 2 in tall, the left-handed Goddard had the reach and the ability to bat aggressively. But as a Test opener he invariably concentrated on defence, preferring to remain on the back foot and build up runs by slow accretion.

Between 1955 and 1970, Goddard played in 41 Test matches, scoring 2,516 runs at an average of 34.46. For years, however, a century eluded him in Test cricket. He was out for 90 against Australia at Johannesburg in 1957; for 99 at the Oval against England in 1960; and for 93 at Sydney in 1964. Not until his 62nd Test innings, against England at Johannesburg in 1965, did he finally reach three figures.

As a medium-pace left-arm bowler, usually over the wicket, Goddard attacked the right-hand batsman’s off stump, ceaselessly presenting problems with variations of swing and cut.

In June 1970 he attended a mission in Durban at the behest of his wife Jean, and within two months became a dedicated evangelical Christian. After Jean died from cancer in 1975, he felt called to give all his time to spreading the Word.