Famous Cricketers No 70 - Keith Miller

during which the Sheffield Shield was won three times. He encouraged and oversaw the development of such outstanding young cricketers as Richie Benaud, Alan Davidson and Bobby Simpson. Miller’s career was not without its controversy. He was sensationally omitted from the 1949/50 tour of South Africa supposedly for bowling bouncers at Bradman in a farewell benefit match at Sydney in March 1949. Bradman, the star attraction, was caught off a bouncer and apparently not amused. The fact that Miller was subsequently selected for the South African tour as replacement for the injured Bill Johnston, does not altogether remove the nasty taste of this incident. Then there is the mystery of why Miller, such a successful State captain, was never asked to captain Australia. He was Hassett’s vice-captain in 1952/53 but was passed over for the vice-captaincy on the 1953 tour of England in favour of Arthur Morris who played under Miller at the time for New South Wales. For the next “Ashes” series in 1954/55 both Miller and Morris were passed over for the Australian captaincy with Ian Johnson being appointed. Johnson was captain of Victoria and was possibly regarded as more of a diplomat than Miller and therefore a “safer pair of hands”. In cricketing and, indeed, captaincy, terms the decision seems strange and it is interesting to speculate as to how Australia might have fared under Miller’s captaincy in the series of 1954/55 and 1956. Miller was a great cricketer and his position as one of the finest of all all-rounders is without dispute. He scored 14183 runs in first class cricket at an average of 48.90, a higher career average than batsmen as good as John Edrich, Tom Graveney and Colin Cowdrey ,none of whom were also regarded as a bowling threat. His record of 41 centuries in 326 innings - better than one every eight innings - puts him in the very highest class as a batsman alone. But it is perhaps as a bowler that he will be chiefly remembered. Australia, just after the war would have won Test Matches without Miller, the batsman. Without Miller, the bowler, it is doubtful if they would have won quite so many. His 4/125 in 44 overs, with Lindwall injured, effectively won the Trent Bridge Test of 1948. His 4/37 wrecked England’s first innings at Sydney in 1950/51 and set up another win. He took 20 wickets at 19.90 against the 1951/52 West Indians including two five wicket hauls. At Kingston in 1955 he became one of only four Australians to score a century and take five wickets in an innings of the same Test. His ten wickets for 152 runs destroyed England at Lord’s in 1956. An inspired spell of nine overs eight maidens, five runs and three wickets (Hutton, Edrich and Compton), in the Third Test at Melbourne in 1954/55 is recognised as one of the finest opening bursts of all time and drew comparisons with the immortal spell of Sydney Barnes on the same ground in 1911/12. Overall, Miller took 497 first class wickets at 22.30, outstanding figures if he had never made a run. It was said that Miller sometimes overdid the bouncer- he was booed at Trent Bridge in 1948 for a particularly vicious barrage at Hutton and Compton and there was his, perhaps, unwise use of the bouncer at Bradman in 1949. The fact remains that he was truly a marvellous bowler just as likely to bowl a delivery of tremendous pace off a six pace run as he was to bowl a perfect length googly off a full run up. He was also an exceptional slip fielder and held some blinders in this position. As a match winner for Australia he was incomparable and it is arguable that he was the finest of all Australia’s great all-rounders and one of the all-time best any country has produced. What he might have achieved without that wartime injury beggars belief. Miller was selected as one of Wisden ‘s Five Cricketers of the Year in 1954. After his retirement he continued to appear in festival matches in many parts of the world including games for the Pakistan Flood Relief fund in 1958. He was made a member of MCC in 1959 and agreed to play in some games for the Club that year. As part of the “build-up” for this he made a guest appearance for Nottinghamshire against Cambridge University scoring 62 and 102 not out and taking two wickets for 35 runs. His presence drew 5000 spectators, five times Nottinghamshire’s average gate for a non-Championship game. A week later he played for MCC against Oxford University, took one wicket but tore a calf muscle when he went in to bat. He did not play first-class cricket again. 5