240 Facts About Keith Miller

Keith Ross Miller was an Australian Test cricketer and a Royal Australian Air Force pilot during World War II.

Keith Miller often batted high in the order, sometimes as high as number three.

Keith Miller was a powerful striker of the ball, and one straight six that he hit at the Sydney Cricket Ground was still rising when it hit the upper deck of the grandstand.

Keith Miller was famous for varying his bowling to bemuse batsmen: he made sparing use of slower deliveries and would often adjust his run-up, surprisingly bowling his fastest deliveries from a short run.

Keith Miller was a fine fielder and an especially acrobatic catcher in the slips.

Away from cricket, Keith Miller was a successful Australian rules footballer.

Keith Miller played for St Kilda and was selected to represent the Victorian state team.

Keith Miller played 50 games for St Kilda, for whom he kicked eight goals in one game against North Melbourne, during 1941.

Keith Miller was named after the Australian pioneer aviator brothers Keith and Ross Smith, who were half-way through their historic flight from England to Australia at the time Miller was born.

At the age of seven, Keith Miller's family moved to Elsternwick, in Melbourne's south east.

Keith Miller lacked power, but impressed with his footwork and style.

Keith Miller reasoned that, as he appeared destined to be short, a career as a jockey was more likely than one as a cricketer or footballer.

Keith Miller attended the selective Melbourne High School, where Australian test captain Bill Woodfull was his mathematics teacher.

Keith Miller was a mediocre student, which disappointed Woodfull, but Woodfull quickly noticed Keith Miller's cricket skills.

Aged 14, Keith Miller was selected for the school's first XI, scoring 44.

In 1934, Keith Miller failed all of his subjects, scoring zero in his final exam for Woodfull's geometry class, and was forced to repeat the year.

Keith Miller scored 12 not out on debut, but observers felt he would succeed with a stronger physique; Woodfull wrote in the 1936 school magazine, "Keith Miller has Test possibilities".

In March 1936, Keith Miller played for South Melbourne against Carlton, captained by Woodfull.

Keith Miller guided his team to 141, putting on a stand of 65 with the last man and finishing with 61.

The crowd gave Keith Miller a standing ovation, and newspapers him compared him to Ponsford and Alan Kippax.

Keith Miller was yet to play in the Sheffield Shield competition, having appeared only in one-off matches.

Keith Miller managed just four and seven, batting at number five in the order.

When Victoria fielded, Keith Miller ran out his future Invincibles captain Don Bradman.

One of Keith Miller's teammates was Percy Beames, who was his manager at Vacuum Oil.

Keith Miller scored 41 and 47 not out in his second match to hold his place, but against New South Wales, Keith Miller made a pair of 14s, having difficulties against leg spin.

Apart from the century, Keith Miller had a moderate season, ending with 298 runs at 29.80.

Keith Miller restricted Pratt to just one goal for the match, and was named best on ground.

Keith Miller soon lived up to the traditional nickname of Dusty for anyone called Keith Miller, owing to his tendency to be involved in fist fights and his rambunctious persona.

Keith Miller played in defence and attack, depending on match conditions.

Keith Miller came second in St Kilda's best and fairest for the season.

Keith Miller's season ended early when he was recalled to duty.

Keith Miller had continued disciplinary problems, and left the Militia on 8 November 1941.

Less than two months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, Keith Miller was called to active service.

Keith Miller trained at No 4 Initial Training School, at Victor Harbor in South Australia, and gained his wings in late 1942.

Keith Miller played only one match during the 1942 football season, while posted in South Australia.

The journey included a stopover at a training camp in Boston in the United States, where Keith Miller met his future wife Peg Wagner.

Keith Miller played his first match at Lord's against Warner's XI, a team that featured past, current and future England players, including Bob Wyatt, Gubby Allen, Trevor Bailey and Alec Bedser.

Keith Miller top-scored in the first innings with 45 and added 21 not out, with two sixes, in the second innings.

The success of RAAF and Dominions that season, especially the attractive batting by Miller and Keith Carmody, prompted Warner to begin planning for a "Test" series between the respective armed services of England and Australia.

In 1944, Keith Miller was again selected for the RAAF team.

Keith Miller had another near death experience: mechanical problems forced him to make an emergency landing of his Beaufighter.

Keith Miller then escaped death by skipping a social appointment; a V1 bomb hit the venue and killed many of the patrons.

In March 1945, Keith Miller was deployed to the RAF station at Great Massingham in Norfolk, East Anglia.

Keith Miller was assigned to 169 Squadron, flying Mosquito fighter-bombers.

Keith Miller's squadron took part in missions against targets on mainland Europe in April and May 1945.

One of Keith Miller's bombs failed to release and the load dangled from a wing.

Keith Miller was obliged to land the plane with the bomb still attached.

Keith Miller's commanding officer ordered him to fly air force personnel over Germany to view the results of Allied bombing.

On one flight, Keith Miller broke away from the flying formation and returned to base late because he wanted to fly over Bonn, the birthplace of Beethoven.

Keith Miller returned to Lord's and scored 50 for the RAAF against a British Empire XI.

Keith Miller came to the crease at and helped Australia take the lead, before cutting loose, eventually finishing with 105 in 210 minutes.

Keith Miller warmed up for the Second Victory Test by top-scoring for the RAAF against Lancashire and the RAF.

At the time, Keith Miller had a leisurely attitude towards bowling, so his success led to calls for him to start taking it seriously, instead of simply jogging in and releasing the ball.

Not wanting to fly tour flights over Germany, Keith Miller lodged bogus reports saying that the Mosquitoes were malfunctioning, causing unnecessary maintenance work.

The plane broke apart and caught fire, but Keith Miller escaped physical injury and was playing sport an hour later.

The next day, Keith Miller headed to Lord's to play for the RAAF against the South of England.

Keith Miller was rewarded with the new ball in the second innings.

Keith Miller had spent around 550 hours in the air with the RAF, to which his RAAF unit had been seconded.

Keith Miller topped the batting averages for the series, with 443 runs at 63.28.

Keith Miller's aggregate exceeded those of Hammond and Hutton, and he took 10 wickets at 27.70.

Keith Miller managed 26 in the Dominions' first innings of 307, before cutting loose in the second innings.

In one 35-minute passage of play, he and Learie Constantine added 91 runs, before Keith Miller departed for 185, made in just 165 minutes.

Keith Miller had enjoyed his visit to the home of cricket.

Keith Miller struck aggressive half-centuries in wins against Nottinghamshire and Leveson-Gower's XI.

In first-class matches, Keith Miller had scored 725 runs at 72.50 for the season, finishing second in both averages and aggregates.

Keith Miller then captained the Australians in a match against West Zone in Bombay, top-scoring with 106 in a high-scoring draw.

At this point, with most of the team suffering from dysentery and the leadership not permitting the team to travel by air, some of the RAAF personnel felt that Hassett should be removed from the captaincy, Keith Miller being one of the candidates to replace him.

Keith Miller refused to plot against Hassett and the dispute ended when a RAAF plane was acquired to transport the team.

In later years, whenever Keith Miller opposed Compton, he would quote this remark when Compton came to the crease.

Keith Miller top-scored in both innings with 37 and 59 in an innings defeat.

Former leading Test batsman Alan Kippax opined that "Australia has unearthed a new champion", and O'Reilly said that Keith Miller's century was "one of the best hundreds ever got against me".

Keith Miller compiled 46 in the second innings as the Servicemen fell to another innings defeat.

Keith Miller started the tour well, top-scoring with 139 against Auckland.

Keith Miller was not required to bowl in the first innings as O'Reilly and Ernie Toshack skittled the home side for just 42.

Keith Miller played with more aggression than during his pre-war years and his high leaping marks were a noted feature of a season that saw him chosen to represent Victoria against South Australia.

Keith Miller thus became one of the few players to play at the highest levels of both cricket and Australian rules football.

Keith Miller was discharged from the RAAF on 26 June 1946, and returned to his job at Vacuum Oil.

Keith Miller resented the fact that many of his colleagues had avoided the hazards of war and moved steadily up the ladder and regarded his job as demeaning.

Keith Miller was worried that his impulsive style would be curtailed by the pressures of professionalism.

Keith Miller weighed it up and opted to sign the contract that tied him to Rawtenstall, his duties to start with the onset of the English season in April 1947.

Keith Miller therefore approached his employers for two months leave so that he could travel to the United States to marry Wagner, which would allow him time to return in preparation for the international series.

Keith Miller was reunited in Boston with Wagner after more than three years of separation and they married on 21 September 1946.

Keith Miller's season started amid ongoing speculation about whether he would fulfil his contract with Rawtenstall.

Wisden said Keith Miller's innings was "one of the finest batting displays ever seen at Adelaide".

Keith Miller made his Ashes debut in the first Test in Brisbane.

Keith Miller played aggressively to reach his fifty in just 80 minutes, striking a six onto the roof of the members' stand at long on, the biggest hit at the ground at the time, before being trapped leg before wicket by Doug Wright for 79 as Australia made 645.

Keith Miller bowled off breaks at medium pace and mixed in a large amount of bouncers.

Keith Miller was deeply affected by the Second World War.

He'd had a serious war and he survived and Keith Miller thought, 'He's my old Services mate.

Keith Miller had a quiet match, scoring 40 and taking one wicket on a spin-friendly pitch as Australia secured another innings victory, but showed he was in prime batting form when he returned to the Sheffield Shield.

Keith Miller had a mediocre game in a drawn match, scoring 33 and 34, and taking two wickets.

Keith Miller secretly accepted an offer to relocate to Sydney to work as a liquor salesman and play cricket.

Back in a good frame of mind for the Fourth Test in Adelaide, Keith Miller took one wicket in each innings, but he shone with the bat.

Keith Miller hit the first ball of the next day for six, and accumulated 67 runs in the opening 71 minutes, to reach his maiden Test century.

The Englishmen utilised leg theory to prevent easy scoring, but as the tail began to be dismissed, Keith Miller accelerated, launching drives into the crowd, despite the presence of four men on the fence.

Keith Miller ended unbeaten on 141 but the match petered out into a high-scoring draw.

Keith Miller was impulsive and cared little for records or ruthlessly dominating his opponents, preferring to play in a flamboyant manner in close contests.

Keith Miller represented the New South Wales interstate football team at the 1947 Hobart Carnival, as vice captain.

In both his fifties, Keith Miller featured in century partnerships with his partners, respectively Bradman and Hassett in the First and Fourth test respectively.

Keith Miller started the tour strongly, scoring a hard-hitting 50 not out against Worcestershire, and an unbeaten 202 against Leicestershire.

Keith Miller deliberately allowed himself to be bowled first ball, much to Bradman's displeasure, in a protest against the one-sided nature of the contest.

Keith Miller scored a duck, but Australia took a 344-run lead on the first innings.

The batsmen survived, but Keith Miller received a hostile reaction from the crowd.

Keith Miller was unfit to bowl during the Second Test at Lord's.

Keith Miller's action generated news headlines, journalists believing that he had disobeyed Bradman.

One of the spectators felt sorry for Keith Miller and lent him his bicycle, which Keith Miller used to cycle around the circumference of the ground.

Keith Miller had a quiet Third Test at Old Trafford, taking one wicket and scoring 31 as the match ended in a draw.

Keith Miller struck Edrich on the body before Bradman ordered him to stop.

Keith Miller hoisted Jim Laker's first ball over square leg for six.

Keith Miller struck consecutive sixes over long off and the sightscreen respectively.

Keith Miller then lifted another six over long off, and another over long on from Norman Yardley.

Against Glamorgan, Keith Miller took two wickets before striking a hard-hitting 84 with five sixes.

Keith Miller struck one of the sixes with one hand, sending it 20 rows into the crowd.

Keith Miller refused to bowl to Ikin, saying that he felt the batsman deserved a century.

Keith Miller totalled 1,088 runs for the tour at an average of 47.30, only the eighth highest in the squad.

Keith Miller bowled three consecutive bouncers at Bradman, dismissing him with the last of the short-pitched deliveries for 53.

One week later, the squad to tour South Africa in the following season was announced, and Keith Miller was omitted, despite being ranked as the best all rounder in the world.

Keith Miller scored one century against Queensland during the season, as well as a 99 against Victoria at the SCG.

One was that Keith Miller had stated during the season that he did not want to bowl, so the selectors only considered his batting performances.

Keith Miller scored 80 and took six wickets in the first match against Queensland.

At the request of captain Hassett, Keith Miller was asked to tour South Africa as cover for Johnston, who had been injured in a car crash.

Keith Miller accepted the offer and resigned himself to bowling heavily.

Keith Miller almost missed the trip after arriving late at the dock in Perth after a drunken night.

Keith Miller was given the responsibility of batting in the number three position when Hassett was afflicted by tonsillitis.

Keith Miller was wicketless in the second innings, and took only one in the Third Test in Durban and did not pass 10 with the bat.

Keith Miller made ducks in consecutive matches leading into the First Test in Brisbane.

Australia took its first wicket when Keith Miller caught Washbrook from Johnson with a horizontal diving catch at slip.

Keith Miller removed Hutton and Reg Simpson before bowling Compton for a duck.

The next day, with his century four runs away, Keith Miller arrived late, leaving his batting partner Johnson waiting at the players' gate.

Keith Miller reached 99 when a leg break from Doug Wright spun across him and clipped the off bail.

Keith Miller was out for seven and a duck in the Fifth Test at the MCG.

The West Indies batted first in the First Test at Brisbane and were dismissed for 216; Keith Miller dismissing their captain John Goddard.

Keith Miller decided to attack the leg spinner without picking him.

Keith Miller missed some, was dropped twice and hit a six before falling for 46 to Valentine.

Keith Miller took another wicket in the second innings but managed only four as Australia stumbled to a three-wicket victory.

Between Tests, Keith Miller took eight wickets in the match as New South Wales beat the tourists in a tour match.

Keith Miller began to pick Ramadhin and finished with 129 in 246 minutes.

Keith Miller had a lean Third Test, taking only one wicket and scoring four and 35, as Australia lost by six wickets.

Keith Miller then scored 47 as Australia managed only 216.

Keith Miller took two further wickets in the second innings as Australia fell short of their target.

Keith Miller did not lobby for the job, but the Sydney media had campaigned for Keith Miller, suggesting that his flamboyant style would attract more spectators and help stem the financial losses of the NSWCA.

Keith Miller's players respected him, and some began to mimic his cough, voice, gait and idiosyncrasies.

Keith Miller captained in an unorthodox manner, often trying unusual ploys to unsettle the opposition.

Keith Miller encouraged the opposition to attack in an attempt to get a wicket, and often shuffled his batting order to suit the circumstances of his batsmen.

Keith Miller was called before authorities after a match against South Australia.

Keith Miller brought things such as cigars, mirrors and combs.

Keith Miller was called before the NSWCA after the South Australian Cricket Association lodged a complaint, and had to give an assurance that such an incident would not be repeated.

Keith Miller scored nine and injured his back after two overs with the ball.

Keith Miller was wicketless against Worcestershire, but succeeded with the bat, scoring an unbeaten 220 in just over six hours.

Keith Miller stayed at the track until late afternoon, and returned to find the Australians walking out to field.

Keith Miller scored 55 and five in a rain-affected draw.

Keith Miller woke up with a hangover the next day just minutes before the start of play.

When it was Australia's turn to bat, Keith Miller was the last man to be dismissed, having scored 86 despite his hangover.

Keith Miller managed 25 in the first innings, but promoted to number three in the second innings, he batted patiently to reach stumps before reaching his first Test century on English soil the following morning, but England held on for a draw.

Australia then played Middlesex at Lord's, where Keith Miller scored a hard-hitting 71.

The next day, Keith Miller dismissed Evans early, before Trevor Bailey began his resistance.

Frustrated by Bailey's defensive style and time-wasting, Keith Miller lost his cool and aimed a beamer straight at Bailey's head, further angering the crowd.

Keith Miller scored 67 against the Gentlemen of England at Lord's and then played against the Combined Services at Kingston.

Keith Miller was the state captain, but Morris was the vice-captain of the Test team ahead of Keith Miller.

Keith Miller had criticised Hassett in his book, and there was talk that Hassett was upset about Keith Miller's departure from South Melbourne and Victoria.

Keith Miller warmed up for the Tests with 86 for New South Wales against England.

Johnson was regarded as a superior diplomat; Keith Miller had a reputation for turning up late and being undisciplined.

Keith Miller had frequently been in dispute with Bradman, who was a member of the board and the chairman of selectors.

Keith Miller had questioned where revenue that the board collected from ticket sales was being used.

Keith Miller returned for the Third Test at the MCG, but was initially unavailable to bowl due to lingering knee problems.

England elected to bat and Keith Miller removed Hutton, Edrich and Compton with his outswinger.

Keith Miller struggled with the bat, scoring six and seven as Frank Tyson's pace saw England inflict a second successive defeat on Australia.

Keith Miller scored 44 and 14 as Australia were bowled out in the second innings to leave England with 94 for victory.

Keith Miller made 19 and 28 in the rain-affected draw in the Fifth Test.

New South Wales beat Victoria in two days at the SCG to win the Sheffield Shield; Keith Miller taking five wickets in the second innings.

Keith Miller led his state in a 45-run win over the tourists, their only defeat apart from the First Test.

Johnson had been injured when hit in the foot by a yorker so Keith Miller was left in charge of the team on the field with Australia one bowler short.

Keith Miller attempted to unsettle the batsmen by placing many men close to the bat in an attempt to insult their batting capabilities.

Keith Miller then placed two silly points and two silly mid-ons in an attempt to unsettle Walcott, who fell to Lindwall soon after.

Keith Miller then took two wickets and the hosts had lost three wickets in as many overs.

Keith Miller reached 137 and then walked after edging a ball, even though none of the opposition had appealed.

At the time, Keith Miller was bowling at medium pace, but Johnson felt that the new batsmen Denis Atkinson and Clairmonte Depeiaza were vulnerable to express pace.

Keith Miller removed John Holt, Walcott and Smith, before taking three tail-end wickets as the home team were bowled out for 357.

Keith Miller lengthened the innings break by seven minutes, by remonstrating with officials to pause the match for the running of the Melbourne Cup.

Keith Miller's wife gave birth to their fourth child, and Keith Miller was drinking into the next morning.

Keith Miller then arrived at the SCG, having forgotten to pick up teammate Peter Philpott as arranged, so he had to rush back and the pair arrived late for the day's play.

Keith Miller was still in a tuxedo as play was about to start.

Keith Miller completed the unfinished over from the previous night and felt that the pitch did not offer any assistance.

Keith Miller then told Alan Davidson to bowl the next over from his end but, as Davidson was about to bowl, Miller changed his mind and took over.

Keith Miller then asked South Australia to follow-on, but showed little interest in bowling again, delivering only six overs despite the bowler-friendly conditions.

Keith Miller was never an accumulator of records, not particularly concerned with figures.

Keith Miller then turned up late to a coaching clinic the next day and instead of teaching, he made a speech, advising the children to play tennis as there was more money on offer.

In January 1956, Keith Miller injured his back in a match against Queensland.

Keith Miller suffered spasms that forced him to miss the rest of the season.

Keith Miller was selected for the 1956 Ashes tour, but could not bowl for a month because of a back injury from the first match.

Keith Miller struggled with the bat, making a duck and four.

The teams headed to Lord's where Keith Miller had to carry the pace attack without the injured Davidson and Lindwall.

Keith Miller had Peter Richardson and then bowled Tom Graveney with an outswinger.

Keith Miller removed Graveney at the start of the run chase.

Keith Miller bowled Johnny Wardle and took his only ten-wicket match haul in Tests.

Keith Miller's knee had taken a heavy toll and Miller was given an extended break had to play purely as a batsman in the Third Test at Headingley.

Australia were caught on a wet wicket in response to England's 325, and Keith Miller top-scored with 41 and Australia were forced to follow on.

Keith Miller had attempted to keep Laker and Lock at bay with his pads.

Langley and Keith Miller were willing to omit Johnson only if the captain volunteered to stand aside.

Keith Miller had received death threats in the lead-up to the game, ordering him to lose.

Keith Miller took another one wicket in the second innings and was unbeaten on seven when stumps were drawn in the second innings.

Keith Miller top-scored in the first innings with 21, as Australia fell for 80.

Keith Miller combined classy strokeplay with big hitting, his front foot play especially devastating.

Keith Miller had a rifle like straight drive, played pull and sweep shots with a minimum of effort and was able to cut elegantly.

Keith Miller combined this elegance with unorthodoxy, hitting two sixes over square leg with a backhand tennis shot and once beginning the day's play in a Test match with a six.

Keith Miller's action caused opposition batsmen to perceive that his deliveries were gaining pace after pitching.

Keith Miller was often able to generate more pace than his new ball partner, Lindwall.

Keith Miller was always willing to try something new if the batsman were set, varying his approach from fifteen paces to five and vice versa.

Compton said that Keith Miller "often had no preconceived idea what he intended to bowl even as he turned to start his run".

Keith Miller once bowled English opening batsman David Sheppard with a googly during a Test.

Hutton opined that Keith Miller was the bowler who was least concerned with the position of his bowling mark, and said that he "never felt physically safe against him".

Keith Miller was often required to bowl through pain, pressing a disk into place at the base of his spine before sending down the next delivery.

At the other end you had Keith Miller, who was unpredictable.

Keith Miller often required a contest to retain interest in the game.

Keith Miller deplored Bradman's ruthless attitude towards annihilating the opposition and sometimes refused to try when Australia was in an unassailable position.

Keith Miller never captained Australia in a Test, as his attitude to the game tended to alarm the authorities.

Keith Miller played as he fought the war, by impulse and mood.

One story had Don Bradman answering a knock on the door late one night to see Keith Miller dressed in a dinner suit.

Keith Miller advised Bradman that, as demanded, he was in bed at curfew and was now going out.

The cricket broadcaster, John Arlott said "that for all the glamour that attached to Keith Miller, he was staunch and unaffected as a friend".

Keith Miller made a living as a journalist and columnist, employed by the Daily Express as a "special cricket writer" for twenty years.

Keith Miller praised the aggressive leadership of his protege Richie Benaud but criticised the style of play pursued by Australia under Benaud's successors Bob Simpson and Bill Lawry.

Keith Miller later worked for Vernons Pools, owned by the millionaire horseracing entrepreneur, Robert Sangster.

Keith Miller "was happiest at the cricket or at the races".

Keith Miller worked as the head of a lobby group in promoting Australian rules football in his adopted New South Wales in the 1980s.

Keith Miller had skin cancer, caused by his insistence on always displaying his mop of hair and not wearing a hat.

Keith Miller knew only that one would get him out eventually.

On 1 January 2001, Keith Miller was awarded the Centenary Medal for "service to Australian society through the sport of cricket".

In late 2002, Keith Miller divorced his wife Peg, with whom he had four sons.

Keith Miller did so to marry his long-term mistress Marie Challman, with whom he had been living since 1999.

Challman was a hospital receptionist and Keith Miller reasoned that he would receive more effective medical treatment by moving to Melbourne to live with her, as his specialist doctors lived there.

Keith Miller had other long-term mistresses, including an Australian beauty queen with whom he was photographed in public.

Keith Miller died on 11 October 2004 after being in persistent poor health.

Keith Miller was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2005 Australia Day Honours for "service to sport, particularly cricket as a player, journalist and commentator".

Keith Miller's achievements were recognised by a host of awards during his lifetime and posthumously.

Keith Miller was one of the ten inaugural inductees into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in 1996.

In January 2009, Keith Miller was announced as one of the inaugural inductees in the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame, having previously been included in the Federation of International Cricketers' Associations Hall of Fame.

Keith Miller is one of only four Australian cricketers, to be honoured with a portrait in the Long Room at Lord's in London.

The ICC player rankings have been applied retrospectively to cricket history and Keith Miller achieved top ten rankings with both bat and ball.

Keith Miller's statistics are an inexact measure of his worth to the side.