Australian cricket is in mourning after the death of Keith Stackpole, who played 43 Tests for his country before becoming one of the voices of the game in his work for Nine, Seven and the ABC.
Stackpole, 84, died suddenly on Tuesday afternoon of a suspected heart attack, according to radio 3AW.
He leaves behind his wife Pat and children Peter, Tony and Angela.
Born in Melbourne to a father who starred as a footballer for Collingwood and Fitzroy, Stackpole made his Test debut in Adelaide in 1966 and went on to score seven centuries as he notched an average of 37.42, with a high score of 207.
‘Stacky’ played alongside legends such as Ian Chappell and Dennis Lillee, was vice-captain of his country for a time and won the honour of being named Wisden’s Cricketer of the Year in 1973.
After he retired from top-flight cricket in 1974, Stackpole forged a career in the media, joining the commentary team for Kerry Packer’s rebel World Series Cricket.
Keith Stackpole (pictured) made his mark on Australian cricket on and off the field in a stellar career that saw him named the world’s best player in 1973
‘Stacky’ (pictured playing against England in 1972) went on to become familiar to millions of Aussies through his work with Nine, Seven and the ABC
The former Australian vice-captain (pictured playing for his country) was known for his aggressive play and forthright commentary
He went on to become a familiar voice to millions of Aussies in his work covering the game for Seven and Nine, as well as working for the ABC for more than 20 years before he quit the national broadcaster in 2005.
Stackpole was awarded an MBE in 1974 for services to cricket.
He retired that year after suffering a life-changing injury.
‘I injured my back in the second Sheffield Shield game of the season, and never played for Australia again,’ Stackpole recalled.
‘I had a disc displacement injury. I had an operation. Two discs were fused together.’
Stackpole could also bowl handy leg-spin and was originally selected for Australia as a middle-order batter who could fill in with ball in hand when needed.
He then formed a brilliant opening partnership with then-skipper Bill Lawry, whose cautious approach was an excellent foil for Stackpole’s swashbuckling style and love of hooking short deliveries.
The man who followed Lawry as Aussie skipper, Ian Chappell, paid tribute to his great mate.
The son of a premiership-winning footballer, Stackpole
‘I couldn’t have asked for a better vice-captain,’ he told News Corp.
‘He had no obvious fear and was one of the few players I have met to actually embrace 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.’
Journalist Jon Anderson, who was Stackpole’s ghost writer, said former Test bowler Rodney Hogg described Stackpole as the ‘godfather of Victorian cricket’.
Anderson also recalled that the batter turned commentator played his first game of grade cricket in the same Collingwood team as his father Keith Sr in 1956-57.
‘Stack was always so proud of his dad,’ Anderson said, noting that Stackpole’s former Test teammate Paul Sheahan believed some of Ian Chappell’s success as national captain can be put down to Stackpole’s influence.
Stackpole also worked as a columnist for Melbourne’s Herald Sun newspaper and was a mentor to Test stars Dean Jones and Brad Hodge.
When Stackpole retired from the ABC, his fellow commentator Dan Lonergan said the great ‘commentated the way he played the game; on the front foot and aggressively.
‘There will be a lot of people out there who will miss him, but … Keith has obviously decided it’s time for someone else to have a go.’
