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- By Henry Lee, AUT Journalism Student
Howick Pakuranga Cricket Club (HPCC) has had no shortage of exceptional talent over the years.
Players such as Glenn Phillps, Mitchell McClenaghan, Brooke Halliday, Molly Penfold, Colin de Grandhomme, Kyle Mills, and Colin Munro have represented Auckland and New Zealand throughout their careers.
Young Auckland Aces all-rounder Lachlan Stackpole is another HPCC talent who’s burst onto the domestic cricket scene, debuting for the Aces in the 2025 Dream XI Super Smash competition in early January.
He’s been in and around the Auckland professional cricket circle for a while, playing for the Aces’ development sides and representing the New Zealand development squad at various points during the 2024-2025 domestic seasons.
Stackpole was picked in the New Zealand U19 cricket squad for the ICC U19 World Cup last year, showcasing his immense talent on the world stage.
The batting all-rounder scored 42 runs against Pakistan and 33 not-out against Ireland for the New Zealand side in the World Cup group stage.
It’s been a whirlwind couple of months for the 19-year-old, who’s juggling his electrical apprenticeship with the cricket season.
Stackpole had been training with the Aces for a couple of weeks before his first call-up, four games into the domestic T20 competition.
“When I heard I was going to get my first cap at Hagley Oval in Christchurch against Canterbury there was a whole load of emotions,” Stackpole says.
“It was pretty cool getting to phone mum and dad and tell them the good news.”
Stackpole was thrown straight into the action by Aces head coach Rob Nicol, opening the bowling against Canterbury, getting his first career professional wicket in his second-ever over.
The professional environment has been something Stackpole’s been working towards for the last couple of years, saying he’s learnt a lot throughout the first month in and around the team.
“It’s been really eye-opening to see the way the professionals go about it day in and day out.
“Obviously playing with someone like Martin Guptill has been amazing to learn from, he’s been all over the world and I’ve been trying to soak up as many of those experiences as I can and apply it to my own game.
“The step up from amateur cricket to the professional environment exposes you to a whole load of new learnings.
“Probably the biggest of these being the level of detail that goes into each game, scouting opposition players or within your own game trying to fine-tune and set up certain match-ups in the game.”
When asked about his future goals, it’s clear Stackpole’s cricket is at the top of his mind.
“The biggest goal at some point is to get a contract and cement a regular spot within the Auckland Aces in all three formats,” he says.
“But beyond that, finishing my electrical apprenticeship is something that’s been going on in the background for a while now, so to get those papers ticked off would be awesome and then keep working away with cricket and see what can come from it.”
HPCC has seen many of its players go on to represent Auckland, but the club’s general manager Francis Scordino says this one has a special feeling to it.
“It is very special for the club and that’s for several reasons. Obviously, we haven’t had an Auckland player for a couple of seasons, and we’ve got a long history of having players in the Auckland side.
“From that perspective it’s always special to get a player to achieve that and get to that level.
“Having played at the club since the beginning of his cricket career, Lachie has spent over a decade at the local club playing through all age groups.
“It’s also incredibly special for us because Lachie, with the exception of when he went to college, he’s essentially played all his cricket for HPCC.
“He started at HPCC in the midgets and has played every grade at the club, all the way through to senior cricket and the Auckland side.
“He’s genuinely what we would consider a homegrown player. I think that brings the club just that little extra bit of pride.”
Scordino has been involved at the club for all of Stackpole’s growth and praises his calmness on the field.
“When it comes to his cricket, I think one of the reasons he achieves well on the field is because he’s got a very calm demeanor on the field.
“It’s something he’s had since he was a kid. He doesn’t really get rattled.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re playing twilight on Monday, or you’ve got the quickest bowler in Auckland coming at you, he’s exactly the same every time.
“He’s got this very calm demeanor and I think that’s what gets him through.
“Because when he gets out into the middle, nothing really phases him.”
Through the Auckland age group set-up, coach Michael Tillett has coached Stackpole at different points of his cricket career, saying that although his technique is unique, it’s what works for him.
“I wouldn’t say Lachie has a traditional technique. That being said he has incredibly fast hands and good wrists.
“This allows him to hit the ball very hard but most importantly he hits the ball in different areas to most batters. He’s capable of finding boundaries from bowlers’ best balls.”
Tillett also puts Stackpole’s success down to his incredibly calm nature.
“Lachie is an incredibly cool customer. No matter the game situation you wouldn’t see a change with Lachie’s body language.
“Having him around in difficult situations you know exactly what you’re going to get from him, which in a tournament makes him important to the group.”
As Tillett coached the Auckland U19 squad that won last year’s national title, a tournament in which Stackpole played, he says Stackpole’s personality is just as valuable to the team as his skills on the field.
“Aside from skill set, he’s able to help the team with his laid-back nature and also his sense of humour.
“He was vital in bringing the team together which helped us gain success.”
Not only has Stackpole made his debut in the national domestic T20 Super Smash competition, but he also recently opened the batting on debut in the one-day, 50-over Ford Trophy competition.
Stackpole’s cricketing career is only just getting started and if the last month is anything to go by, it’s not going to slow down anytime soon.
