Tom Goddard facts for kids

Thomas William John Goddard (born October 1, 1900 – died May 22, 1966) was a famous English cricketer. He was one of the best bowlers ever, taking the fifth-highest number of wickets in first-class cricket history!

Tom Goddard's Cricket Journey

Tom Goddard was born in Gloucester, England, on October 1, 1900. He started playing for Gloucestershire in 1922. Back then, he was a fast bowler. For his first six years, he didn't have much success. In fact, Gloucestershire didn't even want to keep him for the 1928 season.

But Tom was determined to succeed! He went to Lord's cricket ground and changed his bowling style. He became an "off-spin" bowler. This new style worked wonders! Because of his large hands and tall height (about 190 cm or 6 feet 3 inches), he could make the ball bounce steeply. Gloucestershire quickly hired him back for 1929.

How Tom Bowled

Tom Goddard was amazing at spinning the ball. Even on good pitches, he could make the ball turn a lot. When the grass was worn out or sticky, he could spin it incredibly well. He was known for arguing loudly when he thought a batsman was out. He was a tough opponent for batsmen!

Because he bowled with a high path, it was sometimes easy for batsmen to hit the ball far. People say he was hit for about 70 sixes each season between 1934 and 1938. This might be why he sometimes gave away a lot of runs.

Playing for England

Tom didn't play many Test matches for England. He only played eight times against different countries. For most of his career, another spin bowler named Hedley Verity was usually chosen for England. Also, at that time, "leg-spin" bowlers were often preferred over "off-spin" bowlers in Test matches.

However, when Tom did play, he did very well! He even took a hat-trick against South Africa in 1938–39. A hat-trick is when a bowler takes three wickets with three balls in a row! He ended up taking six hat-tricks in his career. This is almost the all-time record of seven. His success showed he could have done even better with more chances.

Amazing Seasons and Records

In 1929, his first year as a spin bowler, Tom took an incredible 184 wickets! He continued to take over 140 wickets in the next two years. He and Charlie Parker formed a very strong bowling team for Gloucestershire. With the help of Wally Hammond's great batting and catching, Gloucestershire had a very successful time. They finished fourth in the 1929 County Championship, and second in both 1930 and 1931.

Leading Bowler for Gloucestershire

When Charlie Parker started to slow down in 1932, Tom Goddard became Gloucestershire's main bowler. Except for a few years when he was injured (1934 and 1938) or lost form (1948), Tom took over 150 wickets every season between 1932 and 1949. He was the best bowler in first-class cricket in 1947 and 1949.

In 1937 and 1947, Tom took 222 wickets for Gloucestershire. In 1947, this was helped by a special sand dressing on the Bristol pitch that made the ball spin a lot. In 1937, he almost reached 250 wickets in all first-class matches. That year, he was named one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year.

His 206 wickets in the 1947 County Championship was a huge achievement. It was the last time any bowler took 200 wickets in a season in that competition. Today, bowlers play fewer matches and bowl slower, so it's very rare to see such high numbers.

Tom Goddard's Best Bowling Moments

Here are some of his most impressive bowling performances for Gloucestershire:

• 17 wickets for 106 runs against Kent at Bristol in 1939.
• 16 wickets for 99 runs against Worcestershire at Bristol in 1939.
• 16 wickets for 181 runs (including 10 wickets for 113 runs in one innings) against Worcestershire at Cheltenham in 1937.
• 15 wickets for 107 runs (including 9 wickets for 20 runs to finish the match) against Derbyshire at Bristol in 1949.
• 9 wickets for 37 runs against Leicestershire at Bristol in 1934.
• 9 wickets for 82 runs against Surrey at Cheltenham in 1946.
• 9 wickets for 21 runs against Cambridge University at Cheltenham in 1929.

Retirement and Later Life

In 1951, at 50 years old, Tom Goddard had to stop playing cricket because he got sick with pneumonia and pleurisy. But he really wanted to reach 3,000 wickets in his career. So, he came back for 14 more matches in 1952. Even at 51, he managed to take "ten-for" (10 wickets in one innings) in a match!

However, his body couldn't keep up with his strong will. He finally retired with 2,979 wickets. This placed him fifth on the all-time wickets list. Only Wilfred Rhodes, Tich Freeman, Charlie Parker, and Jack Hearne had taken more wickets. After Tom, other great off-spin bowlers like John Mortimore, Bomber Wells, and David Allen continued Gloucestershire's tradition.

After retiring from cricket, Tom Goddard ran a furniture shop in his hometown of Gloucester. He did this until a year before he passed away on May 22, 1966. In the 1950s, his shop even provided an early cable television service to people in Gloucester! This was a new and better way to get TV signals back then.