Keith Miller in the 1946-47 Australian cricket season

Miller had only been back in the country a week when he faced Wally Hammond’s touring Englishmen in a tour match for Victoria. His fielding and batting were rusty after the long layoff and the media constantly probed him as to whether he was going to fulfil his contract with Rawtenstall. Miller said nothing in public, but the Victorian Cricket Association made public appeals for someone to give Miller a job so that he would not leave Victoria and become a professional in England.Perry, p. 182.] Miller was selected for an Australian XI fixture against the tourists prior to the Test series, but made only 5 and bowled only four overs. In a Shield match in front of Bradman at the Adelaide Oval, Miller struck 188, with a wide array of strokes, leading the Adelaide Advertiser to describe it as "dashing and colourful".Perry, p. 184.] He went on to take 2/32 with the ball and was back in form. Bradman saw Miller as a top-order batsman and as his new ball partner for Lindwall, although Miller was a reluctant bowler. Bradman felt that Miller was crucial to his strategy of attacking England’s strong batting line-up and the likes of Hammond, Compton, Hutton, Edrich and Washbrook with high pace.Perry, p. 185.]

Miller made his Ashes debut the day after his 29th birthday in the First Test in Brisbane. Miller was slated to bat at No. 5 and Bradman fielded six front-line bowlers, with Miller, Lindwall, Colin McCool and Ian Johnson all scoring centuries at first class-levelFact|date=December 2007Perry, p. 186.] Australia batted first but Miller was not needed until day two, coming in after Bradman was dismissed for 187 with the score at 3/322. Miller was asleep when the wicket fell, but played aggressively to reach his fifty in just 80 minutes before lunch. He struck one onto the roof of the members' stand at long-on, the biggest hit at the ground at the time. However after the lunch break, Miller slowed down and was trapped leg before wicket by Doug Wright, ending his first Test innings at 79.Perry, p. 188.] Australia reached 645 on the third day before a tropical storm hit. Miller was given the new ball along with Lindwall and he took his first Ashes wicket, bowling Hutton as England closed at 1/21.

The following day, the pitch had dried out under the sun and turned into a sticky pitch. Miller bowled at medium pace with off breaks and mixed in a large amount of bouncers, leading Jack Fingleton to compare the amount of high-paced short-pitched bowling by the Australian pair to that during "Bodyline".Perry, p. 189.] On the uneven surface, Edrich was struck around 40 times on the body. Miller cut down the English top order, removing Edrich, Washbrook, Compton and Jack Ikin on the fourth morning to leave England at 5/56. Miller went on to finish at 7/60 as England made 141 and were forced to follow on. Miller removed Hutton again, this time in the first ball of the innings. Another rain-affected pitch saw England reduced to defeat by an innings and 334 runs. Miller ending with match figures of 9/77.Perry, p. 191.] [http://stats.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/player/6612.html?class=1;template=results;type=allround;view=innings Cricinfo Statsguru - KR Miller - Test matches - All-round analysis ] ] His highly productive Ashes debut led to further speculation as to whether he was willing to end his Test career to turn professional. Miller continued to not answer Rawtenstall’s requests for confirmation and refused to comment to the media, hoping that he would get a better job offer in Australia. Miller continued to the Second Test in Sydney, where he had a quiet match, scoring 40 and taking one wicket on a spin-friendly pitch as Australia took another innings victory.Perry, p. 192.]

Miller saved his best batting for the Shield clash with arch-rivals New South Wales after the Second Test. He hammered three sixes from one over against Test team-mate Toshack and made 153 in a 271 run partnership with Merv Harvey in just over three hours, setting up an innings victory. Miller’s childhood hero Bill Ponsford said that it was the hardest hitting he had ever seen.Perry, p. 194.] The Third Test was Miller’s first in front of his home town. He had a mediocre game in a drawn match, scoring 33 and 34, and taking two wickets. [Perry, pp. 195–196.] Miller’s uncertain future continued to dog him, with Rawtenstall expressing their displeasure at Miller’s apparent recanting of his contract. Miller had privately decided that he would not go through with the deal, but was refusing to inform the Lancastrian club. In the meantime, he had various job offers, which he spurned until he received an offer from the manager of North Sydney, offering to help him relocate to Sydney to work as a liquor salesman, with time off for sport.Perry, p. 197.] Miller was back in a good frame of mind for the Fourth Test in Adelaide. In a high-scoring match, Miller took a wicket in each innings, but he shone with the bat. After England had made 460, Miller came in at 3/207 late on the second day.

On the first ball of the third morning, he hooked the ball into the crowd, landing just in front of the Governor’s VIP box to move to 39. He quickly accumulated another 61 runs in 71 minutes to reach his maiden Test century. Miller did not open up after reaching triple figures, as wickets fell around him and the Englishmen utilised leg theory to prevent scoring. As the tail fell apart, Miller accelerated again, launching drives into the crowd as England stationed four men on the fence waiting in vain to catch one of his drives. Miller ended unbeaten on 141 as Australia took a first innings lead but the match petered into a high-scoring draw.Perry, p. 198.] Before the last Test, Miller played for Victoria against England in what was to be his final match for his home state before moving to New South Wales. He took 4/65, his best bowling since the First Test.Perry, p. 199.]

The Fifth Test saw Miller take a wicket in either innings, leaving Australia with a target 214 runs on a wearing wicket. McCool joined Miller after the loss of 3/21 in quick succession with Australia at 5/180.Perry, p. 200.] Wright then beat Miller with three consecutive leg breaks, before he struck back against Alec Bedser with consecutive boundaries and together with McCool saw Australia to the target.Perry, p. 201.] Australia had taken the series 3–0, with Miller scoring 384 runs at 76.80 and took 16 wickets at 20.88, which placed him second in both batting and bowling to Bradman and Lindwall respectively. Nevertheless, Miller did not enjoy himself as much as during the Victory Tests and became disillusioned with Bradman’s strategic mentality. Miller was impulsive and cared little for records or ruthlessly dominating his opponents; he loved to play in a flamboyant manner with early declarations to keep the match alive and less concern for winning or losing. Hassett had outlined in 1945 that the post-war era should be about "cricket, not war".Perry, p. 193.]

However, Test cricket had always been fought fiercely, and the ruthless Bradman was not about to change this. Bradman repeatedly shut England out of the game with massive totals, relentless snuffing out any prospects of an English win rather than maximising the chances of an Australian victory with enterprising declarations.

References

*cite book|last=Perry|first=Roland|title=Miller's Luck: the life and loves of Keith Miller, Australia's greatest all-rounder|year=2005|publisher=Random House|location=Sydney|isbn=9781741662221

Notes