Australian cricket mourns the passing of Test star Keith Stackpole
Australian cricket is mourning after former Test opener, Keith Stackpole, passed away on Tuesday, April 22, after a suspected heart attack. He played 43 Test matches for Australia from 1966 to 1974. During that time, he made 2,807 runs, scoring seven centuries with an average of 37.42.
Stackpole grew up in Collingwood, Melbourne. He started playing for Victoria in 1964 and later led the team to a Sheffield Shield title win in 1973-74. He also joined Australia’s ODI lineup from 1971 to 1974 before retiring. After cricket, he became a respected voice in the sport's commentary box for ABC, Channel 9, and Seven.
A look back at Stacky’s cricket legacy
Stackpole had many big moments in the Ashes. In the 1970-71 match, he hit his career-best 207 runs in Brisbane, even after a close run-out call. He continued his form in the 1972 Ashes in England as Ian Chappell’s vice-captain. He led the series with 485 runs, averaging 53.88—topping the Australian batting average record.
He was later named the ‘Wisden’s Cricketer of the Year’ in 1973. Locally, Stackpole also won the Ryder Medal thrice as the best player in Melbourne’s district cricket contest.
Cricketer friends paid tribute to the legend. Cricket Australia chairman Mike Baird shared, ‘Keith was one of the great contributors to the game of cricket and his legacy will live long into the future’.
