OTD | 1987, Death of John Goddard, who captained West Indies to their first series win in England

The death of former West Indies and Barbados captain John Goddard on 26 August 1987 shocked the cricket fraternity. The tragic loss came at the age of 68 when he arrived for the celebrations of the bicentenary of the MCC. He was one of the most successful captains of the Windies and was also an excellent middle-order batsman. 

Born on 21 April 1919 in Fontabelle, Saint Michael, Barbados, Goddard laid the foundations of his cricketing career while attending school. His family owns a large stake in one of Barbados’ leading trading companies, and his younger brother Neville Goddard is a prominent artist. 

The left-hander played for Barbados from 1936–37 to 1957–58 and has scored five first-class centuries in his career. Notably, in 12 matches he made 1219 runs at an average of 67.72. His international debut in the Test format was in West Indies’ first post-World War II series – against England in 1947–48. 

Goddard played in all four matches of the series, leading the team in the third and fourth Tests. Also a good medium pacer, he took 5 wickets for 31 runs in the third Test which played a crucial role in their victory. However, it was his captaincy that took the limelight in the series.

The first two Tests had been drawn, but under Goddard’s leadership, Windies won the last two matches. He went on to captain the national side in 22 of his 27 Tests between 1948 and 1957. Notably, of the 13 matches he captained Barbados, the team lost only once. 

Other notable achievements attributed to his captaincy were leading West Indies to maiden away victories in India and England. He led the Caribbean team 1-0 in their first tour of India in the five-match series. In the 1959 tour, they beat England 3-1 at their own backyard. 

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