Romance of Cricket Behind Goddard’s Selection For Fourth Test

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XX, Issue 197, 9 August 1930, Page 1 (Supplement)

Romance of Cricket Behind Goddard’s Selection For Fourth Test

CHANGE IN HIS STYLE OF BOWLING

rpHERE is something of a romance of cricket behind the last-minute selection of T. W. Goddard, of Gloucestershire, for the All-England cricket team for the third Test match played at Manchester. It lies not in the special request of England’s captain, A. P. F. Chapman, that Goddard be included, but in the fact that Goddard was a comparative failure in county cricket only a few years ago, but won to Test match honours by changing his style of bowling after he had been dropped by his county.

It was scarcely three years ago that Gloucestershire dropped Goddard after giving him an extended trial. Goddard is approaching his 30th birthday, he having been born at Gloucester on October 1, 1900. He was tried for his county in a couple of matches in 1922, but bowled only 18 overs for one wioket and 48 runs. In the following season he played in about half of the county’s matches, and took 25 wickets at 29.12 runs apiece. However, in 1921, he took only 19, at 18.47 runs each, and the eight wickets which he took in 122 overs in 1925 cost 47.25 runs each. By the way, it may be noted that in those days J. W. Burrough, then at Oxford University, but now on the tutorial staff of Christ's College, and a member of the Old Collegians’ Cricket Club, played occasionally for Gloucestershire. Goddard was given an extended trial for the county in 1926, when he bowled 776 overs and took 68 wickets nt a cost of 30.25 runs each. He bowled very well at times. But in 1927 he was not so good, and in 413 overs he took only 24 wickets at 55.91 runs each. After that he was dropped from the county side, which relied more on the bowling of W. R. Hammond and R. A. Sinfield with the assistance of the evergreen C. Parker. Tn 1928, then, Goddard was not engaged in first-class cricket, but he was on the ground staff at lord’s. While he had been playing for Gloucestershire Goddard had been a fast bowler. But In bowling at the nets at Lord’s he adopted a medium-paced style of bowling and this brought him back Into county cricket and then Into Test cricket. Goddard is a powerfully-built and very tall fellow, able to send the bnll down from a good height. B. H. Lyon, who became captain of Gloucestershire last vear, found, in the nets at Lord’s, that Goddard “could spin his medium-paced deliveries more than the average spin bowler, nnd, helned by his height, was nasty to play.’’ Lyon persuaded the Gloucestershire. committee to give Goddard another trial last year. . Note the difference between fast bowler Goddard and mediumpaced bowler Coddard, In 1927, 24 wtokets at 55.91 runs each; In 1929, 154 wickets at 15.97 runs each for Gloucestershire alone, and in all first-class games 194 wickets for 19.39 rum each. Qn his return to the county side Goddard was helped by good advice from Charles Parker and B. H. Lyon.

Within a fortnight he had shown the value of his altered style of bowling, by taking 13 wickets for 120 runs—seven for 25 and six for 95 — against Middlesex. A fortnight later ho got 13 wickets against Worcestershire—eight.for 117 and five for 37. Gloucestershire climbed well up tho county championship table, and Goddard went on to play for the Players against tho Gentlemen at Lord’s and for The Rest against England, as well as to the position of reserve for England against tho South Africans at Leeds and Manchester. It is written of Goddard that because of his powerful physique no day is too long for him. “On good wickets he seems able to keep even the best batsmen quiet by bowling an immaculate length, and on wickets which afford him any help bo is a very difficult hnwler. Besides his stock ball, the off-break, he can send down a straight and faster ball, and his huge hands enable him to conceal what he is doing from the batsmen.” —Christchurch “Sun.”