Keith Stackpole: A Boy, A Street And A Dream

Martin Chandler | 9:31am BST 05 May 2024

Published: 2024
Pages: 20
Author: Sheahan, Paul
Publisher: Cricketers In Print
Rating: 3.5 stars

24 August 1972 was a Thursday, and the day the first ODI in England was played. The game was at Old Trafford, and it was the first time I ever visited a Test Match ground. Back in those days you were allowed to run on to the pitch at the end, and as twelve year old I joined all the other kids in doing so.

My first regret was in not picking up the match ball as it sped past me towards the boundary as England clinched a six wicket win in the early evening. It was remarkable. Not one of those around me so much as stretched out a hand towards it, and despite the invading horde I suspect it might well have gone on to reach the boundary.

The England batsmen rapidly decamped to the pavilion, but the Australians didn’t all show the same keenness to get off the field, and something else I remember was running within a few feet of Keith Stackpole. In the way of the early 1970s I did have an autograph book and a pen in my pocket.

I have to confess that it didn’t occur to me to stop and ask ‘Stacky’ for a signature. If it had would I have had the courage to do so? He had after all just lost against England, was an international sportsman, and he towered over me. I did look him in the eye though, and he had a philosophical air about him and I got a half smile in return. My second regret is that I didn’t think to ask him for that autograph.

What I don’t recall about that game is at any point noticing Paul Sheahan, although the scorecard confirms he was playing. The best days of both Sheahan and Stackpole were in the past by then, but both enjoyed decent careers, and played in as many as 18 Tests together. In addition the pair played together for Victoria for many years, as well as later spending time together in the press box, and clearly know each other very well.

Sheahan’s tribute to Stackpole is not, as these sort of essays often are, a summary of the latter’s career and indeed in terms of descriptions of particular innings or matches there is very little. The point of this one is to explain what sort of a man Stackpole is. In that aim Sheahan is entirely successful, and leaves his reader knowing exactly what makes Stackpole tick. Keith Stackpole: A Boy, A Street And A Dream is a thoroughly worthwhile contribution to the Cricketers in Print series and, very well written as it is, augurs well for the quality of the autobiography from Sheahan that is in the offing.

As with the other monographs in the series this one,duly signed by both Stackpole and Sheahan, appears in a limited edition of seventy copies and can be sourced from Roger Page