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| Sunday, 17 October 2004 |
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Keith Miller well received by Ceylon Observer readers by A. C. de Silva The world of cricket lost probably the most colourful allrounder of all time with the death of former Australian star Keith Miller at the age of 84 years last Monday near Melbourne in Australia. The funeral will be on Wednesday in Melbourne. However, his name will live forever in the minds of the followers of the game. If ever there was a cricketer who electrified the crowd, whether he be batting, bowling or fielding, it was Keith Miller who is generally hailed as the greatest allrounder the game of cricket has ever had. An outstanding Australian Rules player in his youth, he came on the international cricket stage with an explosive innings of 185 at Lord's in the 1945 victory Tests. In the nine years during which he played for Australia in every post-war Test but one because of injury, he was one of the most colourful figures in the game. He played in 55 Tests and scored 2,958 runs at 36.97 with seven centuries and took 170 wickets at 22.97 as well and has on record holding 38 catches. His highest score was 147 versus West Indies (Kingston, Jamaica) in 1954-55 series and his best bowling effort was 7 for 60 versus England at Brisbane in the 1946-47 series. Ceylon Observer readers of the past will undoubtedly remember Miller as he wrote extensively for the Observer on the MCC tour of Australia in the 1958 series. His comments were well received by the readers in Sri Lanka. Miller who retired from first-class cricket after the Test series against England in 1956, worked for a newspaper office in Sydney. Earlier, he was a Flt. Lieutenant during the World War II days. He was married and had three sons. As a child, he was very small and resolved to become a jockey when he grew up. But he grew up so fast that his ambition became impossible. However, he never lost his craze for horse-racing, and he used to ride the horses and back with gay abandon with the same manner he displayed at cricket. He was not reckless but sufficiently assured himself of risking a chance and this attitude made him join the Australian Services and was involved in World War II. Miller was not only a great cricketer but a forceful personality on and off the field. His beats with the bat are only two well-known to record in detail. He had powerful strokes all round the wicket and his driving off the front foot was a joy to watch. But it was Miller the bowler that brought him fame. He was a great fighter and could change the game in an over. He did this on more than one occasion. As always he set himself to dismiss the top half of any batting order. Miller was capable of sending down the ball at great speed and there were times that he was even faster than his partner Ray Lindwall who shared the opening attack with him for several years. He was also brilliant on the field in the slips and gully. He has changed the course of a match with the most impossible catches, his most celebrated performance being when he dismissed Peter May with a reckless dive at slips, the ball coming hard to his shoulder but holding it safely as he rolled over. When play was not going well for the Aussies, it was then that Miller's cricketing prowess was seen at its best. This was the secret to his success. |
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