Former South Africa allrounder Trevor Goddard died aged 85 on Friday night. He had been in poor health for some time.

Goddard's career spanned 41 Tests between 1955 and 1970. A left-hand opening batsman, he scored 2516 runs and took 123 wickets with his medium pace. His only century came against England in 1965, and his economy rate of 1.64 remains the third best of all time. His best figures - 6 for 53 - came in South Africa's first win against Australia in a home Test match, in 1966-67. He was also known to be a fine all-round fielder.

Goddard was a regular in the South Africa side till he briefly retired and moved to England in the early 1960s. When he returned, he resumed his international career, and captained South Africa on their tour to Australia in 1963-64, a series they drew; that series established South Africa as a force to be reckoned with in cricket. He also played in the 1969-70 series, won by South Africa at home, but his career came to an abrupt end after the third Test. By then, Goddard had announced his unavailability for the upcoming tour of England and with the series won, he was left out.

"Trevor was a humble man who served the game with great distinction both on and off the field," CSA chief executive Haroon Lorgat said.

In all, Goddard played 179 first-class matches, largely for Natal, and scored 11,289 runs at an average of 40.60 and took 534 wickets at 21.65 apiece. He also had a brief spell with North-Eastern Transvaal, and coached at Maritzburg University.

After his cricket career, Goddard became an evangelist priest. He was severely injured in a car crash in 1985 but recovered and continued his religious work.