‘Aussies haven’t won here because we plan too much’

Five subsequent touring parties have been unable to equal that feat. We asked Stackpole, here as a radio commentator, what the ’69 team did right ‘‘I think we had a very versatile team. We had fast bowlers like Graham McKenzie who were not just fast, but knew how to bowl on these pitches. From the other end we had someone like Ashley Mallett and a good finger spinner.’’

‘‘More importantly,’’ he added ‘‘the batsmen were not intimidated by spin bowling.’’

The biggest factor, though, was the conditions off the field which steeled the side to perform as a unit.

‘‘We used to stay in absolutely pathetic conditions. I don’t even want to remember the place we stayed at in Guwahati and in Bombay we stayed at Brabourne Stadium, when you had the Hotel Taj close by.’’

All this, Stackpole says, made the Aussies feel as though they were up against the whole of India. ‘‘Our board left it to you guys (BCCI) and they made us stay at all these places. So when we got onto the field, we felt like we were up against not just the eleven on the field, but the whole of India.’’

But life’s changed and so has India. Stackpole touches on the ‘‘enjoyment’’ factor for the current team.‘‘We were in India for 10 weeks which was long enough and we didn’t enjoy the tour as much as these guys do. The only enjoyment we had was from winning.’’

Looking back, the former Aussie opener also reckoned the Indian batting in 1969 was very weak.

Though Stackpole reckoned the spinners — ‘‘Erapalli Prasanna, the greatest ever off-spinner’’, Bishen Bedi and Venkatraghavan — were brilliant. ‘‘I remember Chandra just could not get a game then,’’said Stackpole with a glint in his eyes.

Just what have teams lacked since 1969? ‘‘I guess you tend to put too much pressure on yourself and each other by saying we have to do this, we have to win here.’’

Stackpole insists there is no trick to winning in India; the only way is to just go out and play the way you know. ‘‘You tend to put too much pressure by trying to plan too much. Back then we used to take it day by day, Test by Test.’’

As he finishes, he looks at the watch — time for his next round of commentary. He excuses himself, not before he fails to inform you about his other major interest which he’s brought along on this tour — a group of tourists.

Stackpole, like former stars Mark Waugh and Merv Hughes, is here as a leader of group of ‘‘cricket lovers’’ who are here on a package tour. It is something says Stackpole he has been doing for twelve years and he just loves it.

‘‘I will interact with any number of people who love cricket,’’ he says, signing off.