Information AboutKeith Miller |
Keith Ross Miller MBE (born 28 November 1919 , died 11 October 2004 , Melbourne , Australia ) was a famous Australian Test cricketer and World War II pilot. 'Nugget' Miller is best known for his achievements as one of Australia's greatest players in Test Cricket . However, as a young boy, he dreamed of becoming a jockey until a growth spurt in his teens saw his sporting interests turn to cricket. He first came to public notice for his cricket ability at the age of 16 when he scored 61 for South Melbourne Cricket Club in a match against Carlton Cricket Club, which was captained by Bill Woodfull , the former Australian captain. Impressed with Miller's performance, Carlton donated a silver cup which Woodfull presented to Miller in the classroom at Melbourne High School, where Woodfull was a mathematics teacher and Miller was a student. The school's oval is now named the Woodfull - Miller Oval in honour of their contributions to Australian cricket. In his debut for Victoria , in a Second XI match against Tasmania in 1937 – 38 , Miller scored 181. However, as with many of his contemporaries, his cricket career was interrupted by World War II , during which he served with the Royal Australian Air Force in Europe, as a pilot of Mosquito fighter-bombers. Miller had several narrow escapes, and injured his back when making a bellylanding after one of his plane's engines failed. This injury restricted his bowling on occasions during his subsequent cricket career. Miller resumed playing cricket with a bang, starring in the Victory Tests in England in 1945 after the war ended. He made his Test debut in Australia's first-ever Test match against New Zealand in March 1946 , and was a key member of Donald Bradman 's famous Invincibles team which toured England in 1948 . He played 55 Test matches for Australia , retiring after the tour of England, Pakistan and India in 1956. A tall man (6' 5"), Miller played cricket in an extroverted manner. He was a powerful middle order bat, and scored 2,958 runs at an average of 36.97 with a highest score of 147. However, his captains placed a higher value on his ability as a fast bowler. He took 170 wickets at an average of 22.97, which is only slightly lower than the averages of Ray Lindwall (23.03) and Dennis Lillee (23.92) who are generally considered to be the finest fast bowlers Australia has produced. Miller would vary his run-up and would often bowl his fastest deliveries from a shortened run. He would also bowl slower balls to keep the batsmen guessing. A fine fielder in the slips, in fact anywhere in the field, with his movie star good looks he was a crowd favorite. At the time of his retirement from Test cricket in 1956 , he had the best statistics of any all-rounder in cricket history. He is still generally considered to be the greatest all-rounder that Australia has produced. Miller was one of the five Wisden Cricketers Of The Year in 1954 , and one of the ten inaugural inductees into the Australian Cricket Hall Of Fame in 1996 . He is one of only four Australian cricketers, the others being Bradman, Victor Trumper and Shane Warne to be honoured with a portrait in the Lord's Long Room in London .
On the 1948 tour as Australia scored 721 in a day against Essex , after coming in at 2-364, Miller stepped away from the stumps and let himself be bowled first ball by Trevor Bailey and headed for the local racecourse. And when asked by Michael Parkinson about pressure on the field, referring to his time as a pilot during World War II , he famously replied "Pressure is a Messerschmitt 109 up your arse firing tracer, playing cricket is not." Miller played 50 matches in the VFL for Australian Rules Football team St Kilda , mainly at Full Back and Centre Half Back , and represented Victoria in 1946. Among his many close friends was his English counterpart as test cricketer, footballer and national hero, Denis Compton . They met in India during the war, where they were both in their respective militaries; They faced each other several times on the cricket pitch, including during the famously high-scoring 1944 Ranji Trophy final between Holkar , Compton's team, and Bombay ; and Miller was in the Slip s during the match at Calcutta beween the Australian Services and East Zone that was interrupted by rioting when Compton was on 94. One of the rioters who had invaded the pitch ran up to Compton and said "Mr Compton, you very good player, but the match must stop now", which Miller gleefully repeated whenever Compton came to the Crease subsequently. In recognition of their friendship and rivalry, the player adjudged the best of the series in the Ashes wins the Miller-Compton Trophy . He was named after the Australian pioneer aviator brothers Keith and Ross Smith . EXTERNAL LINKS
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| "http://wwwawmgovau/fiftyaustralians/32asp" class="copylinks" target="_blank">Australian War Memorial article |
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| "http://wwwausportgovau/fulltext/2004/sportsf/s1219060asp" class="copylinks" target="_blank">Ausport article |
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