Stackpole a thorn in England's side

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32972, 19 July 1972, Page 12

Stackpole a thorn in England's side

(By

R. T. BRITTENDEN)

There was a time when the Australian opening batsman, K. R. Stackpole, was regarded as a rather slap-dash performer, who got some runs occasionally, when luck ran his way. Recent events have hinted that he is much more than fortune’s darling. When he entered international cricket for Australia against England in 1965-66, Stackpole batted at number eight and bowled a few overs of tidy spinners. He was regarded as an aggressive Fate-order batsman, strong on the square cut and hook. Although he is sometimes more circumspect today, Stackpole is still a much more aggressive batsman than most of his test contemporaries, and he is proving a particularly shaij> thorn in England’s side. His century at Trent Bridge was his fifth in test matches, and he now has a test aggregate of more than 2000, an average in excess of 40. There was not much indication that he would reach his present eminence when he began his test career. He made 43 and nine against England, in two test appearances, then went to South Africa with the Australians in 1966-67. He had a test century there, but averaged only 28 for the series, and he was not chosen for the 1968 Australian tour of England. Nor did he play for Australia against India in 1967-68. Stackpole returned to test cricket in 1968-69, and had an average of 33 against the West Indies, making three half-centuries in nine

innings. But he averaged 46 against India in 1969-70 with a first-test century and other solid scores. When South Africa routed the Australians, Stackpole was among the sufferers. He passed 50 only once in eight innings and averaged 23.4. But the benefit of all this experience is now being shown. In 1970-71 against England, Stackpole started the series with an innings of

207 and in that prolonged rubber he made 627 runs at 52.2, including another century in the sixth test. And his 114 at Trent Bridge, was added to previous series scores of 53, 67, 5 and 57 not out—-296 runs at 74So in the last home series against England, and the present one, Stackpole has knocked up 923 runs at almost 58 an innings. It needed a lot more than luck to do that.