'He will be missed badly': Ian Chappell leads tributes to former Test opener Keith Stackpole – Nine

Nine’s Wide World of Sports
Former Australian Test skipper Ian Chappell has lead tributes for former opener Keith Stackpole, who died on Tuesday aged 84.
Stackpole played 43 tests for Australia between 1966 and 1974. He belted 2807 runs at an average of 37.42, including seven centuries.
On the 1972 Ashes tour, he was vice-captain under Chappell, and topped the run-scorers list with 485 opening the batting.
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Chappell remembered 'Stacky' as the best vice-captain he ever had.
The former Test captain told Wide World of Sports Stackpole would often notice things before he did, and would quietly sort them before it reached him.
Keith Stackpole hits a ball from John Snow to the boundary for four runs in the first Ashes Test at Old Trafford in 1972. Getty
"He was a terrific help to me in a lot of ways people don't see … things that you couldn't necessarily do as a captain, he would just quietly do them," Chappell said.
"He would never ask, but I was very happy to know if something needed to be done, Stacky was there to do it.
"I remember we were playing at Trent Bridge in the third Test against England in 1972. We had two slips … Stacky quietly said to me, 'I think we need a third slip here'.
"I thought about it, I put a third slip in, and three or four balls later, third slip got a catch.
"Things like that the vice captain was doing, and people wouldn't notice."
Chappell said the news of Stackpole's death, delivered by his son Peter, had came as a shock.
Chappell had himself only spoken to Stackpole this week. He revealed his wife Pat had been fighting her own health battles, and Stackpole was in good spirits after she had returned home.
"She was enjoying being home and had improved enormously," Chappell said. "When the phone rang and I saw Peter Stackpole's name, I thought, 'Oh shit, something's happened to Pat'. That it was Keith was the last thing I was expecting.
"Stacky was a strong, strong person – not just with us cricketers, but with his family. He'll be missed badly."
Former Sydney Morning Herald columnist Paul Sheehan once described Stackpole as the yin to Chappell's yang on the field.
Ian Chappell has remembered Keith Stackpole as the best vice-captain he ever had. Getty
"(Sheehan) was probably a bit better educated than I was, so I never thought about yin and yang," he said.
"We were slightly different in some ways, but I think we were very similar in a lot of other ways.
"Whatever term you want to put on it, Stacky was just a terrific vice-captain, and to me that's all that mattered."
After his retirement from cricket, Stackpole enjoyed a career in media including a stint as a cricket commentator for the ABC. He also worked closely with Cricket Victoria, and mentored several stars including Dean Jones and Brad Hodge.
Chappell said a mark of the man was his annual reunion dinners in Melbourne. During the Boxing Day Test, Stackpole would organise a dinner for his former teammates, peers and media colleagues. Chappell said the dinners were a highlight of the week of the Melbourne Test.
The news was broken by veteran cricket writer Jon Anderson on 3AW Breakfast. Anderson spent time as Stackpole's ghostwriter.
"Keith Stackpole was described last night to me by Rodney Hogg as the godfather of Victorian cricket," Anderson said.
"To his wife Pat and children, Peter, Tony and Angela, sincere condolences."
Stackpole at an ICC event in 2005. Getty
In remembering Stackpole as an aggressive opening batter, Chappell shared a story from Australia's fourth Test against the West Indies in Georgetown in 1973.
The Aussies had been set 135 to win on a flat deck with a Windies attack that while not yet the powerhouse it would go on to be, was still feisty.
"It's not the easiest thing for a cricket team to chase down a low total for some reason – it should be easy, but it's not," Chappell said.
"One of the things that I've always thought was important was to get the target down pretty quickly. Don't hang about.
"Stacky and (Ian Redpath) open the batting … in the first over, Stacky charges their opening bowler Vanburn Holder and bangs him back over his head for four. Then he did it again."
Listed to come in at first drop, Chappell was sitting in the pavilion padded up. He said watching Stackpole charge Holder had him shaking in his boots as he prepared for what would surely lead to a barrage of short bowling when he got to the crease.
Thankfully, the two openers chased the target without losing a wicket.
"I was looking to annoy Stacky a bit. When he comes in, I said 'listen you fat bastard … why did you go in and you bloody charge the opening bowler and hit him back over his head? What do you think that does for me?'.
"Typical Stacky, he said, 'Oh, you've got to let them know who's in charge'.
"That's Stacky. That was a very important part of his batting. He was always someone at the top of our order who let the opposition know who was in charge, which helped the rest of us a lot."
Cricket Australia chair Mike Baird said Stackpole was "one of the great contributors to the game of cricket".
"His legacy will live long into the future. 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," he said.
"It is testament to his talent and standing that he was one of the five 'Wisden Cricketers of the Year' in 1973 and was awarded the MBE in 1974 for services to cricket.
"He will be sadly missed and his wife Pat and their family and many friends are in our thoughts."
"Keith was a giant of the game – a brilliant cricketer, a passionate Victorian, and a proud Australian," Cricket Victoria chair Ross Hepburn added.
"His courage at the crease and his deep understanding of the game made him one of the most respected figures of his time.
"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."
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