Keith Miller hit the biggest six at Lord's

by A.C. De Silva

Going up in the air .... The great Keith Miller - the Australian cricket star of many years ago, was in the habit of making big hits when he was at the wickets with his bat.

Keith Miller, did this before he came into the Australian Test match team. There was the match between the Dominions, captained by Learie Constantine, and England in August 1945, the season immediately following the end of World War II. Miller, playing for the Dominions, hit up 185 in 165 minutes including seven 6's and thirteen 4's.

The match was one of the "finest games" seen in England, appropriate to the mood of the hour. It produced 1,241 runs, including sixteen sixes, a century in each England innings by Hammond, and grand hundreds for the Dominions by Martin Donnelly, the New Zealander, and Miller.

The final stages of the match is recorded for the glorious driving of Miller. He outshone everyone by his dazzling hitting. In 99 minutes he raised his overnight 61 to 185 and in three-quarters of an hour of superb cricket he and Constantine (40) put on 177.

Though travelling at such a pace, Miller played faultlessly. One of his seven 6's set the whole crowd talking. It was a terrific on-drive off Hollies, and the ball edged in the small front of the broadcasters' dressing room. This is said to be the longest hit made at Lord's, reminiscent of Albert Trott's hit hit on the same ground in 1899.

This was a wonderful finish to his season at Lord's where in four first-class matches he scored 568 runs in eight innings, twice not out, with three centuries and an average of 94.68. One is inclined to remark that it was only the beginning of a dazzling career, in post-war cricket, true to the prophecy of the Editor of "Wisden" who then wrote: "I would single out K.R. Miller, the tall Victorian, as the find of the season. I firmly believe he is destined to become one of the great men of Australian cricket.

1st Test vs England

In his first Test against England - Brisbane 1946-47 - he followed his 79 for 60; in the fourth made his first Test hundred 1412 not out. For that series he finished second in the batting to Don Bradman (384 runs at 76.80) and second to Ray Londwall in the bowling, with 16 wickets at 20.87. He rarely failed to make an impression on a match when the situation was tense and important; if it did not challenge him, he did not give a damn.

In 1950-51 he bowled crucially and batted quite magnificently at Sydney. In 1953, he made a significant 109 at Lord's. In West Indies, 1955, he made three hundreds and finished with an average of 73.16, including 147 at Kingston, his highest Test score, and 137 at Bridgetown.

Last too care about figures

He was the last man to care about figures but they must be adduced here to show his immense quality. Realise that, just after the start of his career, he lost five years to the Second World War and retired early - at 37 - after sustaining an injury in India. Yet when he left, after only (by modern standards) 55 Tests, he had the finest all round record in cricket history to that time.

The second man, the monumental Wilfred Rhodes, no less, was 663 runs and 43 wickets behind him. In all cricket Keith Miller scored 14,183 runs at 48.90, with 41 centuries; took 497 wickets at 22.30, and held 136 catches.

As a bowler in Tests, when he rose to the heights of his cricket, he took 170 wickets at 22.97 and made 2958 runs at 36.97, with seven centuries, plus 38 catches.

Miller scored 41 hundreds in his career. He took 170 wickets in Tests and scored 2,958 runs. Many of his catches bordered on the miraculous. One cannot do better than quote John Arlott for a true assessment of Miller, "with the physique of an athlete, and aptitude for every part of cricket, Keith Miller was a towering player, who won matches by his batting, bowling and fielding.

A bat to him, was an attacking weapon. Inherently a forward player he struck the ball on fast wickets with force and majesty. If one of his powers has to be set above the others, it must be his bowling, for with his high, flowing action he could bowl up to full fast speed and yet make the ball move late in flight or the seam so penetratingly as to beat the best batsmen in the world on plumb wickets.

His bouncer was sudden and venomous. He took any run up that occurred to him: off fifteen yards he would check at the last moment and deliver a blind length googly, or he would toss back his hugeflop of hair and, from three paces, blash through a batsman's defence with a yorkder....Sometimes cricket bored him: When it challenged him he was at his princely - though apparently negligent - best, Gay, spontaneously generous, and convivial, Keith Miller was one of the most colourful and brilliant of all cricketers."

Though keith miller is 'no more'- he will be remembered for ever.