Keith Miller With The Australian Cricket Team in England in 1948 - Early Tour

Early Tour

Along with his teammates, Miller arrived in Southampton in April after a sea voyage from Australia aboard the SS Strathaird. As was the custom, Australia fielded its first-choice team in the traditional tour opener against Worcestershire. Miller was duly selected and started the Invincibles tour strongly. He scored a hard-hitting 50 not out, with five fours and a six, after coming in to bat at No. 9. His innings was the fastest for the match in terms of runs per minute. He bowled a total of 20 overs for match figures of 1/54 as Australia completed an innings victory. His first wicket for the summer was that of opposing captain Allan White.

The tour opener was immediately followed by a game against Leicestershire, and this time, Miller was promoted to No. 3. At the fall of the first wicket, the crowd surged towards the players' gate, expecting Bradman to enter in his customary batting position. However, Miller emerged instead, and scored an unbeaten 202 in five and a half hours. He featured in a 111-run second wicket partnership with Sid Barnes, before putting on 159 with Bradman for the third wicket. The hosts compounded their troubles by dropping a trio of chances from Miller. After a late-order collapse, in which no other batsman passed 12, it was left to last man Bill Johnston to partner Miller from 180 onwards. The pair put on 37 for the tenth wicket before Johnston was out for 12, having successfully shepherded his partner to a double century. One of Miller's sixes concussed a spectator, and after his long innings, Bradman did not use his bowling in the first innings, but he was used late in the second innings to take the last two wickets and end with 2/10. Australia completed another innings triumph.

The next match against Yorkshire pitted Australia against Hutton; it was thus an opportunity for both parties to gain a psychological advantage before the Tests. Bowling medium-paced off breaks, Miller removed Hutton for five after the Yorkshireman had struggled for an hour in the middle. He finished with 6/42 as the home team were rolled for 71 on a wet wicket in cold and blustery conditions. Miller took four of the last six wickets as the hosts fell from 4/45 to 71 and had bowled almost unchanged, sending down 23.3 of the 54.3 overs. In reply, Australia struggled to reach 101, including a counter-attacking 34 from Miller, which was the highest individual score for the low-scoring match. He came to the crease at 4/38 and scored 34 of the next 48 runs added, before falling at 7/86. He hit two sixes in his innings, including one from the first ball that he faced. He then took 3/49 in the second innings as Yorkshire fell for 89 to leave Australia a victory target of 60. However, he was dismissed for two, caught at long off after attempting to hit a six from the spin of Johnny Wardle to leave the score at 3/13. Australia’s batsmen continued to struggle and fell to 6/31—effectively seven wickets down with Sam Loxton injured and unable to bat—before stumbling home without further loss. It was the closest the Australians came to defeat for the whole tour and Miller was instrumental in preserving their unbeaten record.

After three consecutive three-day matches, with only one rest day between nine scheduled days of cricket, Bradman rested Miller for the next match against Surrey at The Oval, which Australia won by an innings. He returned to take seven wickets in the next fixture against Cambridge University. In the first innings, he resumed his battle with John Dewes, whom he had tormented during the Victory Tests in 1945. This time, Dewes put a thick towel under his shirt for protection against an anticipated short-pitched barrage. Miller set up Dewes with a short ball, before yorking him. He then took the last three wickets to end with 5/46 as the hosts were bowled out for 167 in the first innings. Miller was not required to bat as Australia amassed 4/414 declared in its only effort with the bat. In the second innings, he took 2/29 as Australia completed an innings victory.

Miller was involved in a famous incident in the next match against Essex. Australia elected to bat and had already amassed 2/364 when he came to the crease midway through the first day. The previous partnership for the second wicket between Bradman and Bill Brown had plundered 219 runs from the Essex bowlers in 90 minutes. Miller took guard and deliberately let the first ball from Trevor Bailey hit the stumps, much to Bradman's displeasure. He flicked his hair back and walked away. He later said that he was making a protest against the one-sided nature of the contest, as Australia went on to set a world record of 721 runs, the most in one day of first-class cricket. Former Australian Test batsman Jack Fingleton said "under the circumstances at Southend, I could well understand his feelings". Miller regained his competitive instinct when given the ball in the first innings, taking the first three wickets to reduce the hosts to 3/13. He ended with 3/14 as the hosts were skittled for 83, but then bowled only two wicketless overs as Bradman enforced the follow on; Australia won by an innings and 451 runs, its largest winning margin for the season. Bradman rested Miller for the next game against Oxford University, which Australia won by an innings.

In the lead-up to the Tests, Australia took on the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) at Lord's; it was effectively a dress rehearsal for the Tests, as the MCC fielded seven players who would represent England in the Ashes. It was Miller's first match at the home of cricket since the Victory Tests. Bradman’s men batted first and Miller came to the crease at 3/200 to join Lindsay Hassett. The pair put on 80 for the fourth wicket before Hassett fell for 51. Brown then partnered Miller for another 63 runs before he was out. Ian Johnson then came in and accompanied Miller to the close of play on the first evening. The latter reached his century in 165 minutes and was 114 at stumps, with Australia at 5/407. The next day, the partnership extended to 155 runs before Miller fell at 6/498. His innings had taken 250 minutes, with 20 fours and three sixes. The Australians attempted to gain a psychological advantage ahead of the Tests by attacking the off spin of Jim Laker. They hit nine sixes from the Englishman on the second morning. Miller's dismissal triggered a collapse and Australia lost 5/54 to be all out for 552. Miller and Lindwall then attempted to maintain their ascendancy over Hutton before the Tests. On this occasion, Hutton held off the pair with 52 and 64, but his teammates could not, as the MCC fell to defeat by an innings and 158 runs. However, Miller was able to account for Bill Edrich and twice claimed Jack Robertson, ending with figures of 3/28 and 1/37 as Australia enforced the follow on. Test batsman Edrich had been prolific in recent English seasons, and was expected to be one of the key batsmen in the forthcoming Anglo-Australian match; Robertson was thought to be in contention for England selection but two low scores against Miller saw him overlooked. In addition to his performance on the field, Miller solved some off-field problems. The MCC—which administered cricket at the time—provided him with legal assistance in his contract dispute with Rawtenstall. The Australian all-rounder had signed a contract to play for the club in the Lancashire League, but failed to honour it. Rawtenstall dropped the dispute after being offered compensation.

Miller was rested for the next match against Lancashire, which resulted in Australia's first non-victory for the tour after the first day was lost to rain. He returned against Nottinghamshire and scored 51 of Australia's total of 400. His wicket prompted the loss of 5/45 as the tourists were bowled out. Miller took a wicket in each innings, including that of Test batsman Reg Simpson, to end with a total of 2/67 as Australia drew its second consecutive match. The next match against Hampshire saw Australia run into difficulty with Bradman resting under the rotation policy. Miller bowled 19 overs without reward, taking 0/39 as Hampshire batted first and scored 195. In reply, Australia was in trouble after rain turned the pitch into a sticky wicket. Miller came in at 2/38 and launched a counter-attack, scoring 39 of the 53 runs added before he fell with the score at 5/91. The remainder of the Australians folded quickly, losing 6/26 to be all out for 117, ceding a first innings lead of 78, the first time during the tour that they had been behind on the first innings. Miller's top score of 39 included three consecutive sixes from the bowling of Charlie Knott, whose bowling troubled the Australians the most and ended with 5/57. He helped ensure that they did not capitalise on their lead and set a large target, taking 5/25 and bowling three of his victims. The tourists dismissed Hampshire for 103, leaving a target of 182, which Australia achieved with eight wickets to spare without Miller having to bat. He was rested for the match against Sussex at Hove, after six consecutive days of cricket. In its last match before the Tests, Australia completed an innings victory in just two days.