Keith Miller, the most charismatic Australian cricketer of his generation, has died in a nursing home on the Mornington Peninsula, south of Melbourne. He was 84, and had been in poor health for some time.Miller enlivened the postwar years with his brilliant allround play, able to turn a match with an attacking innings, a fiery spell of bowling, or a superb piece of fielding. He is probably best remembered for his new-ball partnership with Ray Lindwall, but it was as a classical batsman that he first made his mark: the photograph (right) of Miller clipping a textbook square-drive adorned the office wall of the cricket-loving Australian prime minister Robert Menzies for many years.But “Nugget” – so-called because he was Australia’s “Golden Boy” – was more than a cricketer: along with his English soulmate Denis Compton he embodied the idea that there was more to life than cricket. Miller, who was named after two pioneer Australian aviators – Keith and Ross Smith – was a fighter pilot himself in the Second World War, and after some extremely close shaves was well aware of the importance of life. It meant that he could occasionally look disengaged on the field: at Southend in 1948, when the “Invincible” Australians were running up the record score of 721 in a day against Essex, Miller stepped away to his first ball and was bowled, since such an unequal contest held little excitement.This approach hardly endeared him to Don Bradman, the unyielding captain of that 1948 side who, possibly significantly, had not seen action during the war. Some mischievous hair-parting bouncers at the great man during Bradman’s valedictory testimonial match at home after the tour probably didn’t help either. Miller was initially ludicrously overlooked for Australia’s next overseas trip – to South Africa in 1949-50 – although he did eventually go, after an injury to another player and a petition from local fans. But with Bradman by then firmly at the helm of the Australian Board, Miller never did captain Australia, although he was a born leader who impressed for New South Wales in the Sheffield Shield, and would have been a better bet than Ian Johnson, who was persuaded out of retirement when Lindsay Hassett stood down. Miller did have an unusual approach to captaincy, though: he sometimes set his field by telling the other players “Scatter”. On another occasion, having omitted to nominate a 12th man, he found himself with 12 players on the field. He observed: “Well, one of you had better bugger off.”
Miller started as a batsman, hitting 181 on his first-class debut, for Victoria against Tasmania at Melbourne in 1937-38. And he first made a mark on the international game in 1945, with a sparkling 105 in the first “Victory Test” at Lord’s, followed by a stroke-filled 185 there for the Dominions against England at the end of August. Miller made his official Test debut the following year, and went on to play 55 times for Australia, scoring 2958 runs at 36.97, with seven centuries, three of them against England and four against West Indies, whose captain, John Goddard, once sighed, “Give us Keith Miller and we’d beat the world.”Bradman’s strong side needed Miller more as a bowler than a batsman, and he ended up with 170 Test wickets, at the excellent average of 22.97. He was the perfect foil to the smooth, skiddy Lindwall: Miller would trundle in off a shortish run, but could send down a thunderbolt himself if he felt like it. Or a legspinner. Or a yorker. Or a bouncer, an overdose of which led to his being booed during the 1948 Trent Bridge Test: Miller simply sat down until the barracking had subsided. What few people realised was that he had trouble with his back throughout that tour – he often pressed an errant disc back into place at the base of his spine before somehow sending down another screamer.Despite this Miller remained a fearsome proposition as a bowler, grinning down the pitch at the discomfited batsman, and returning to his mark, flicking back his hair, which was on the long side for that short-back-and-sides era. In 1956, on his third and final tour of England, Miller was rising 37 and hoping not to do much bowling. But his pal Lindwall pulled out of the second Test at Lord’s, and his replacement Pat Crawford broke down in his fifth over. Miller shouldered the burden, bowling 34.1 overs in the first innings and 36 in the second, and took five wickets both times to set up Australia’s 181-run victory, their only one of that Jim Laker-dominated series. Miller had scored 109 in the 1953 Lord’s Test, and remains the only man to have his name on both the batting and bowling honours boards in the visitors’ dressing-room there.After his retirement Miller remained in the public eye. The social contacts he’d built up – there were unsubstantiated rumours of a fling with Princess Margaret – made him a living as a journalist and columnist, but he was happiest at the cricket or at the races. Late in life he struck up a friendship with Sir Paul Getty, and the two of them would chat unselfconsciously in the Getty box at Lord’s, or at the beautiful Wormsley ground, where the cricket on display – serious but spiced with grins and gins – was exactly the type Miller would have loved to play.Neville Cardus dubbed Miller “the Australian in excelsis”, a notion to which the noted Daily Mail sportswriter Ian Wooldridge heartily subscribed: “By God he was right.”Keith Miller’s death was announced shortly after the news filtered through of the demise of the actor Christopher Reeve in America. As Tim de Lisle, the former Wisden editor, pointed out: “The world has lost two Supermen in one day.”Steven Lynch is editor of Wisden Cricinfo.
According to Wisden Cricinfo sources, two USA-based candidates have applied for the post of chief executive officer of the USA Cricket Association.The two are named as S.M.X. (Bobby) Refaie, current Secretary of the USA Cricket Association, and Hassan Jalil, a cricket developer with extensive experience in South Asia and the USA. However, this could not be officially confirmed. Mark Waugh, former Australian Test cricketer, has been mentioned as a possible candidate, but this has also not been confirmed.US Cricketers are waiting with bated breath for the announcement from the ICC. The appointment of this CEO is expected to set the future direction of US cricket, and a lot is riding on the final outcome.
New Zealand Cricket is experimenting with couch-grass as a prospective grass for its pitches.High Performance Centre turf manager, Karl Johnson said an experiment will be done on one of the recently-built practice strips at Bert Sutcliffe Oval at New Zealand Cricket’s complex at Lincoln University.”We had some couch-grass loaded on a train from Auckland for a three-day trip to put down on the practice pitches to see how it will handle our winter,” he said.The appeal of couch-grass is its durability and the fact that because it is such an aggressive grass, it can allow the re-use of pitches within a month. That makes it of particular significance to Lincoln because of the volume of cricket played there.”It does take different management, but it is used right around Australia and former Auckland groundsman Richard Winter, who now works at the WACA in Perth, believes it should be able to be used in New Zealand.”The Legend variety of couch is used at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and Melbourne has reasonably similar weather to us,” Johnson said.”The benefit to us at Lincoln is also that we don’t have winter sport on the ground,” he said.
Nottinghamshire kept alive their faint hopes of a late push towards the promotion places when they bowled out Worcestershire for 259 on the final afternoon to claim their second CricInfo Championship victory of the season.Set a victory target of 321 the visitors began the day at 9-0 but in a morning session interrupted by a sweeping storm they lost their opener Phillip Weston and their talisman, captain Graeme Hick.Hick fell just before lunch, to give Nadeem Malik, Notts’ young pace bowler, his first wicket in senior cricket.Hopes of a home success looked bleak as Anurag Singh and Vikram Solanki each compiled 43 in good time as Worcs entered the spirit of a final day run chase.Malik nipped out Singh but Andy Bichel and Steve Rhodes kept up the run-rate batting around the solid presence of Paul Pollard, who steadfastly refused to throw his wicket away against his former county.Tea was taken with the score on 193-5 with both sides still capable of forcing a result. Pollard’s run out half-an-hour after the resumption gave Notts the opportunity of attacking the lower order.Kevin Pietersen picked up a couple of wickets with his off-spin and victory was confirmed for Notts when Alamgir Sheriyar pushed forward at Greg Smith, who took a comfortable return catch to complete a 61-run win.After being bowled out for just 149 on the first day Notts second innings performance with the bat brought about the transformation and led to an eventual second win of the season against the same opposition.
Tottenham Hotspur’s spineless defeat against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground last weekend was a mess.
Thomas Frank has since been entrusted by the Lewis Family with the responsibility of turning things around, but it’s hard to see that Spurs have made headway after dismissing Ange Postecoglou at the end of the 2024/25 campaign.
That being said, Frank has what it takes to lift this project off the ground, having exceeded expectations in west London with Brentford. He is steadfast in his belief that he will make discernible progress soon.
The Danish coach needs time, but, more importantly, he needs results, and he must navigate through a number of obstacles down N17.
The biggest problems facing Frank at Spurs
Frank was visibly incensed as his Tottenham team trudged off after defeat at Nottingham Forest. After all, it was a display littered with issues.
The likes of Pedro Porro have been abject all year. The Spanish right-back is a creative expert, but he’s struggling to bring it all together, so flimsy and, it looks at times, disinterested.
Sofascore record that Spurs lost 57% of their aerial challenges against the Tricky Trees; moreover, only three of 19 attempted crosses found their target.
It’s not just a struggle to implement Frank’s vision. Individual errors are costing Tottenham dearly too. There are deep-rooted problems for the Lilywhites boss to wrestle with, but mistakes make up some of the biggest creases, and they need to be ironed out.
Premier League 25/26 – Most Errors Made
Club
Goals Conceded
Errors
Tottenham
21
20
Everton
19
19
Nott’m Forest
25
18
Wolves
20
17
Man City
16
16
Sunderland
17
16
Data via FBref
Perhaps this means certain members of the squad need to be evicted. We’ve seen before the hindrances that error-prone players can have, even against their natural talent, and Frank may have landed his own version of Serge Aurier in that regard.
Spurs' new version of Serge Aurier
Aurier spent four years in north London with Tottenham, enjoying highs and lows under Mauricio Pochettino and then Jose Mourinho’s wing.
An athletic and creative right-back, Aurier arrived from PSG for a hefty £23m fee, and while he boasted a suitable athletic and technical profile for the Premier League, the Ivorian defender was culpable of many “ridiculous and rash” decisions, making many an “elementary mistake”, as had been said by pundit Jamie Redknapp.
Talented but guilty of error-strewn displays? Tottenham may have their new version between the sticks, with Guglielmo Vicario having played an epicentral role in his side’s mistake-filled performances this season.
Vicario, 29, is into his third campaign in north London after joining from Empoli for an initial £17m fee, and while has saved 70.6% of the shots he has faced in the Premier League this term, putting him seventh in the standings for that metric, he has also blundered on several occasions, drawing the ire of Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher and many Spurs supporters besides.
Also branded “embarrassing” and “in a tough spot” by former Premier League forward Nigel Reo-Coker after blundering against Forest, Vicario’s job is not at risk yet, but he’s ostensibly entered the beginning of his prime as a shot-stopper and needs to be producing more convincing displays.
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He was at fault both times as Callum Hudson-Odoi worked his way onto the scoresheet, and it’s hardly as if that dour defeat stands as an outlier.
In fact, the Italy international has made a sum total of 11 direct errors since moving to the Premier League, including a woeful return of six from just 24 appearances last year.
Aurier had his uses in a Tottenham shirt, but his strengths did not outweigh the weaknesses that bogged Spurs down after that post-Champions League decline.
Now, Vicario is proving himself to be the new version, and if Frank is serious about making sustained headway, it might be that the shot-stopper needs to be cut loose down the line.
A better signing than Simons: Spurs hold talks to sign big-money PL star
Tottenham’s attacking additions from the summer have left something to be desired.
There is not much Brett Lee has failed to achieve this summer. He was a key man in Australia’s record-equalling 16 consecutive Test wins, was Player of the Series against both India and Sri Lanka, and collected his first Allan Border Medal. But to really cap off his outstanding season, Lee is desperate to deliver the Pura Cup to New South Wales.The Blues have won the title twice during Lee’s career but because of his higher commitments this is the first opportunity he has had to take part in a decider. Lee recalls watching his brother Shane play in domestic finals and he said beating Victoria in the match that starts on Saturday at the SCG would be extra special.”I’ve played in one-day internationals and in Tests around the world,” Lee told the . “But to get the chance to play in a Pura Cup final, and the chance to play for the team where it all started, I can’t wait.”The Vics are a team you love to hate. They’re a good bunch of guys, but you hate losing to them. They’ve been in good form and I’m looking forward to the final. They’re a strong side.”Lee is the spearhead in a Test-quality New South Wales pace attack that also features Stuart Clark and Nathan Bracken, while the spin option is provided by Stuart MacGill. Despite expectations the SCG pitch will offer plenty of turn, MacGill played down talk that the final would be a bowl-off between him and Victoria’s Bryce McGain ahead of the Test tour of the West Indies in May.”If Bryce is the right man for the job, he’ll be picked for Australia,” MacGill said. “If I’m the right man, I’ll be going. The current selectors are very matter-of-fact and if they see a role for me or Bryce or Dan Cullen, then they’ll choose me, Bryce or Dan.”
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsA full house at the Kensington Oval turned up for Brian Lara’s farewell to international cricket but, although it was a low-key farewell with the bat, they were treated to one of the best matches of the World Cup as England completed a thrilling one-wicket win with one ball to spare. Kevin Pietersen’s second World Cup century carried England to within touching distance and the ageless Paul Nixon reduced the requirement to four off the final over. Nixon was bowled by Dwayne Bravo but Stuart Broad held his nerveWhen Pietersen was joined by Nixon, England needed a tough 112 in 14 overs but the pair added 80 in 63 balls. Pietersen went to his fourth ODI ton with a huge six over midwicket off Jerome Taylor only to miss an attempted repeat next ball and lose his leg stump. Nixon, who came so close to carrying England home against Sri Lanka, took the momentum forward and his three boundaries off the 48th over left England needing a run-a-ball for the final two.When Nixon was confounded by Bravo’s excellent slower deliveries it was down to Broad and Jimmy Anderson to find three from four balls. Off the penultimate delivery Lara, in his final gesture as an international player, brought the field in and Broad, at the opposite end of his career, scythed over cover.It had taken six weeks but finally there was a sell-out and the crowd were treated to the match they deserved. They’d been whipped up into a frenzy by Chris Gayle’s 58-ball 79 so by the time Lara walked in, through a guard of honour from the England players, they were in the mood for something special.A scorching square-drive and a deft leg glance hinted at one final onslaught, but Marlon Samuels wasn’t reading the same script. Pushing the ball towards mid-on he set off for a run, only to change his mind and leave Lara stranded by Pietersen’s direct hit. As he left the field, to another standing ovation and handshakes from his team-mates, his ODI figures read 10,405 runs at 40.48 from 299 matches.Although he couldn’t sign off with a major innings, Lara at least appeared set to end with a victory when England fell away to 189 for 6. But Pietersen was ticking and he timed his charge to perfection, expertly picking out the required boundaries. Third man was a profitable area, but he also threaded the needle on both sides of the pitch.Kevin Pietersen finally managed a one-day hundred in a winning cause for England•Rebecca Naden/PA Photos/Getty Images
West Indies’ fielding was the ultimate mixed bag. Three direct-hit run outs, two from the ebullient Bravo, were outstanding but the number of fumbles and general laziness elsewhere was staggering. Gayle had the chance to remove either Pietersen or Nixon in the 46th over yet made a complete mess of it as both batsmen were stranded mid-pitch. With the first ball of the next over Pietersen reached his century off 90 balls but his wicket, followed quickly by Liam Plunkett, put West Indies back in control until Nixon’s heroics.For the first half of England’s run chase it appeared that the captain’s innings everyone had hoped for from Lara would actually come from Michael Vaughan’s bat. Hopelessly out of form throughout the tournament he finally kicked on and almost matched Gayle with a 33-ball fifty. One shot, off Taylor, was vintage Vaughan as he launched a pull into the stands at square leg. Another six followed as he danced down the pitch to Gayle and his first ODI fifty for 14 matches was completed with a flick to fine leg.With Bopara, who was promoted to No. 3, Vaughan added 90 for the second wicket until both were beaten by Bravo’s laser-guided arm as West Indies reasserted their hold. Bravo was having an irresistible period, bowling Paul Collingwood off the inside edge, and when Andrew Flintoff tamely lobbed to long on the innings was dribbling away. But England have a habit off pulling off the unexpected and, in many ways, it was a fitting finish to Duncan Fletcher’s time as coach.In the final outcome, West Indies’ late collapse of six for 42 during the last 10 overs allowed England back into a match which had been rushed away from them by Gayle, who finally found his touch. After 16 overs Vaughan had used seven bowlers as the opening stand reached 131 with Devon Smith contributing a more sedate fifty. Collingwood’s breathtaking salmon-like leap to remove Smith was a moment of brilliance, but Samuels partially atoned for his party-pooping role with a flamboyant 39-ball 51, taking 24 off Plunkett’s seventh over. Vaughan’s offspin was the surprise package in pulling back West Indies and, importantly, England’s fielding standards remained high.But while Vaughan ended as the winning captain the day was still all about Lara. At the final presentation he asked “did I entertain?” The resounding cheers from the crowd, most of who stayed on after the finish, pretty much said it all.
England’s selectors have decided to monitor the effects of captaincy on Andrew Flintoff, the England allrounder, heading into the first Test against Sri Lanka at Lord’s on Thursday. Flintoff was confirmed as captain for the start of the three-Test series yesterday but the England management has expressed concern at his combined workload as key batsman, bowler and captain.”We will continue to monitor the situation Test by Test until Michael [Vaughan] comes back,” David Graveney, the chairman of selectors, told reporters. “We hear loud and clear what people are saying about Freddie’s workload and we are as keen as everyone else to ensure his performance is not affected.”Flintoff’s inspiring leadership in India – in the absence of an injured Vaughan – where England drew 1-1 with a memorable victory in the final Test at Mumbai, earned him much praise. “I know there’s been a lot of cricket between now and the last Test match but let’s not forget the Mumbai Test match – with a pretty depleted team Andrew did a fantastic job,” said Graveney. “We take it Test match by Test match, but Michael Vaughan is captain of England and we, in discussion with him, believe that Andrew at this stage is the right man for the job.”Graveney hoped that Vaughan would be back to full fitness soon. “Michael’s rehabilitation is going pretty well and the player knows how close he is to fitness,” he said. “I speak to him on a number of occasions as captain and it is difficult with him when he’s not involved. He is progressing very well and we’re keeping our fingers crossed because he is crucial to what happens later this summer and for the Ashes.”Flintoff’s Lancashire team-mate Sajid Mahmood and Gloucestershire’s Jon Lewis, both uncapped fast bowlers, have also been included in England’s 13-man squad for the first Test. England’s think tank faces the dilemma of handing debuts to both or to include Monty Panesar, the left-arm spinner who performed credibly in India and who edged Shaun Udal, the offspinner, for a place in the squad.
Three of Indian cricket’s junior stars will begin a six-week stint at Australia’s renowned Centre of Excellence next week as part of the annual Border-Gavaskar scholarship. Vikram Rajvir Singh and Rudra Pratap Singh, both medium-pacers who played in the Under-19 World Cup in 2004, and Cheteshwar Pujara, the opener from Gujarat who impressed in the series against England Under-19, have been selected for the scholarship by a Board of Control for Cricket in India panel headed by Sunil Gavaskar, the former Indian captain.Vikram Singh had a promising start to his first-class career last season and made his mark for Punjab with 30 wickets in six first-class matches. Though just 20, he sent down some fiery spells and slowly emerged as one of the fastest bowlers in the country. Rudra Pratap Singh, who relies more on swing and accuracy, also had an impressive season, ending with 34 wickets in six games. Unlike these two, Pujara hasn’t yet made his first-class debut but he came to the spotlight with a fine 211 against the England Under-19 side. Now in its sixth year, the scholarships have been formative in the careers of several Indian Test cricketers like Mohammad Kaif, Shiv Sunder Das, Parthiv Patel, Lakshimiphathy Balaji and Gautam Gambir.During their stay at the Brisbane-based academy from June 20 to July 31 the players will receive specialist coaching and development support from some of Australia’s leading academy coaching staff headed by Tim Nielsen, the head coach. They will also participate in an emerging players tournament next month involving the New Zealand Cricket Academy, Australian Institute of Sport scholars and players from Karnataka.Trevor Robertson, the academy director, said the scholarships offered the young cricketers a tremendous opportunity to broaden their playing and personal experience. “Since the Border-Gavaskar scholarship was launched, we have seen a number of promising Indian players visit Australia to participate in some of our coaching programs and gain valuable experience under foreign playing conditions,” Robertson said in a Cricket Australia statement. “It’s a tremendous opportunity for the players and the three young Indian cricketers have been earmarked in their country as players of the future for India. The experience they will gain while at the Centre of Excellence will hopefully help their growth on a personal and playing level. Australia and India share a passion for cricket and we are pleased that through the Australia-India Council, we are able to provide an opportunity to host these talented cricketers.”The scholarship program was founded in 2000 as a joint initiative between Cricket Australia and the Australia-India Council (AIC). The scholarships are financially supported by the AIC, which was established in 1992 to strengthen and foster ties between Australia and India across a range of sectors, including sport. The Border-Gavaskar scholarship, named in honour of cricketing legends Allan Border and Sunil Gavaskar, is also supported by the Indian board.Previous Border-Gavaskar scholarship recipients 2000 Mohammad Kaif, Sridaran Sriram, Shiv Sunder Das2001 Deepak Chougule, Vinayak Mane, Parthiv Patel2002 Lakshimiphathy Balaji, Gautam Gambir, Thilak Naidu2003 Raiphi Vincent Gomez, Udit Brijesh Patel, Siddharth Trivedi2004 Shikhar Dhawan, Suresh Raina, Yalaka Venugopala Rao.
The Western Australian batsman, Marcus North, has joined Durham as cover for Herschelle Gibbs, who will be absent on international duty at various stages of the 2004 season.North, 24, has played in the North East Premier League and will be returning to league cricket in between his spells with Durham. He recently enjoyed a prolific season with Western Australia, scoring over 1000 runs at an average of 56.52.”I’m delighted to be given the opportunity to play first-class cricket in England, especially at Durham," said North. "My wife is from the North East and the region is a second home for me. I’ve been in good form this year and hopefully I can continue that for the Durham fans.”North will make his debut at the start of the season, while Gibbs is still on international duty and will return in August during South Africa’s tour of Sri Lanka. “Marcus is a great asset," said Durham’s captain, Jon Lewis. "He is a proven run-scorer and can also contribute a few overs [of offspin]. His signing also gives us some form of continuity throughout the season.”Durham’s chief executive, David Harker, was also pleased with the signing. “Marcus should settle in fairly quickly as he has played for several years in the North East. He is an exciting young talent and should score plenty of runs during Herschelle’s absence."