Australian cricket icon Keith Stackpole dies at the age of 84

Cricket has lost one of its most colourful and forthright characters with the death of former Test opener Keith Stackpole at the age of 84.

Australian cricket is mourning the loss of cricketing legend Keith Stackpole, MBE, who died yesterday aged 84.

Stackpole, or “Stacky” and “Stack” to his cricketing friends across the globe, died from a suspected heart attack. The adored husband of Pat, father of Peter, Angela, Tony and their families, had a love affair with cricket that began as a child when his father Keith Stackpole senior, a cricketer and footballer of some note, took him to the MCG to watch his heroes in Keith Miller, Neil Harvey, Don Bradman and Ray Lindwall.

Stackpole grew up wanting to emulate his father and ended up going one better by playing for Australia, initially as a leg-spinning all-rounder batting on debut against England (he made 43 and took 2/33) at Adelaide in the fourth Test of the 1965/66 Ashes series.

He took some time to cement his position but once captain and friend Bill Lawry promoted “Stacky” to open against the West Indies at the SCG during 1969, he became the best in the game in his adopted position.

Bill Lawry (L) and Keith Stackpole (R) formed one of Australia’s most iconic opening pairs.

Ian Chappell, a legendary Australian captain from 1971 until 1975, said a moment he will always treasure was a reunion in 1992, 20 years after he had led Australia to a 2/0 away win over the West Indies.

“Stack, or Humphrey as we knew him, was my vice-captain on that tour and I couldn’t have asked for a better vice-captain. At that reunion I got the chance to publicly thank him for everything he had done behind the scenes,” said Chappell.

“He just did supportive things quietly in the background, which was very comforting for me to know. He perhaps saw that I was consumed with something else, and knew when to act.

“He had no obvious fear and was one of the ew players I have met to actually embraced facing fast bowling.

“People don’t fully understand the guts and skill it requires to take on opening bowlers. The quicker the better for ‘Humphrey’ and he played for his team, not himself. He was a wonderful cricketer and a very good friend.”

Ian Chappell and Keith Stackpole in 1971.

He topped Australia’s averages in India on a winning tour in 1969 (368 runs at 46.00) against England in Australia in 1970/71 (627 runs at 52.25) played with flair and consistency against the Rest of the World in 1971/72 ( 490 at 54.44) and England in England in 1972 (490 at 54.44). It was no surprise that he was named one of Wisden’s five Cricketers of the Year in 1973.

Rodney Hogg, was just 16 and opening the bowling for Northcote alongside Gary Living when he first encountered Stackpole: “I did what I did to every other batsman and bowled as fast and short as I could,” recalled Hogg, 74.

“A lot of batsmen hooked me successfully but only two with total impunity, Stacky and a bloke called Viv Richards. Stacky would hook a low flying aircraft if it flew over the MCG. As a people we were quite different but found common ground and formed a friendship that meant a lot to me. He was firm but very, very fair.”

Keith Stackpole with Harsha Bhogle in the commentary box.

Leading officials have also shared their condolences for Stackpole, with Cricket Australia chairman Mike Baird describing him as “one of the great contributors to the game”.

“Not only was he an outstanding player for Australia and Victoria, his work in the media, radio and TV commentary and as a mentor to many players who followed in his footsteps demonstrated his enduring passion and influence in the game,” Baird said.

Cricket Victoria chairman Ross Hepburn said Stackpole was a “giant of the game”.

“We extend our condolences to Keith’s family, friends and teammates.

“Keith was a true statesman of Victorian cricket. He played the game with great spirit and remained a devoted ambassador for cricket long after his playing days were over. His legacy will endure not only in the record books, but in the hearts of all Victorian cricket lovers.”

When Paul Sheahan made his way into Victoria’s Sheffield Shield team in the mid-1960s, Stackpole was already an integral component alongside class batsmen such as Bill Lawry, Ian Redpath, Bob Cowper and Jack Potter, wicketkeeper Ray Jordon and bowler Alan Connolly.

Keith Stackpole in action for Australia.

“Our backgrounds were different but our friendship was immediate and enduring. There would be some opponents who would have equivocal memories of him as a club opponent but as a teammate, he was fantastic. And I have no doubt he helped “Chapelli” (Ian Chappell) a hell of a lot when he was his vice-captain,” said Sheahan, 78.

“Being one of those behind the scenes facilitators of team unity, he was a brilliant foil to Chapelli and they were very close. Plus ‘Stack’ was the one who kept our era of Victorian cricketers together, as Ian Chappell has done for his Test players.”

Colin Kinnear, a lormer Sydney Swans coach and long-time Victorian district cricketer,first met Stackpole in 1974 when he joined Carlton Cricket Club as coach after leaving Collingwood.

“And that resulted in three Jack Ryder Medals as the best player in the competition, plus three Premierships, two as captain/coach and one when he handed that role to John Scholes. He was terrific with younger players where his qualities as a human came through,” said Kinnear, 78.

“What he taught you as a cricketer followed through to life lessons. We trained very hard, ‘Stack; always saying if we get a run-out we’ll win this game, so concentrate, concentrate.

“Not everyone loved him from other clubs because he was so competitive, but most respected him. And I can tell you something that he remained terribly proud of was the fact he played his first senior district game alongside his father, who played his last.

“And he had great courage, not just as a batsman but as a husband to his wife Pat who has been battling ill-health in recent times.’

Originally published as Australian cricket icon Keith Stackpole dies at the age of 84