George Goddard (cricketer)

George Ferguson Goddard MBE (born 19 May 1938) is a former Scottish cricketer. Goddard was a right-handed batsman who bowled right-arm off break. He was born in Edinburgh, Midlothian and educated at George Heriot's School.

Goddard made his first-class debut for Scotland against Ireland in 1960. He played 21 further first-class matches for Scotland, the last of which came against Ireland in 1980.[1] He had entered the Scottish team as a batsman,[2] but as his career progressed he became predominantly a bowler. In 22 first-class matches, he took 41 wickets at an average of 26.86 and best figures of 8/34.[3] These figures came against Ireland in 1972.[4] These figures remain to this day the best innings bowling figures for Scotland in first-class cricket.[5] As a lower-order batsman, Goddard scored 371 runs at a batting average of 13.25, with a high score of 39.[6] He captained Scotland from 1974, having replaced James Brown, until 1980 when he was replaced by Richard Swan.[2]

He made his List A debut for Scotland against Leicestershire in the 1980 Benson & Hedges Cup, a match which marked Scotland's debut in that format. He made 14 further List A matches for Scotland, the last of which came against Gloucestershire in the 1983 NatWest Trophy.[7] In his 15 List A matches, he took 9 wickets at an average of 45.44, with best figures of 2/25.[8] With the bat, he scored 58 runs at an average of 6.44, with a high score of 14.[9]

Outside of cricket, he worked as an accountant. In New Year Honours 1982 Goddard was appointed as a Member of The Order of the British Empire services to Scottish cricket.[10][11] In 2011 he was one of the twelve initial inductees into the Scottish Cricket Hall of Fame.[12]