12 September 2019, by: Sarah Waris of CricXtasy

Proteas desperate for “Miller Time” during India T20 series

South Africa will need their most experienced player Miller at the forefront in the T20I series.

Ever since the retirement of AB de Villiers, the Proteas side have been unable to step up in the format to consistently perform with the bat in hand. Sans sporadic showings from Rassie van der Dussen and Reeza Hendricks, the rest of the batting line-up have failed to carry on match-after-match, which reflects in the results.

Since de Villiers officially walked away from the game, South Africa have won only four T20Is of the ten that they have played since May 2018. This also includes a loss against Zimbabwe at home and a series loss to Sri Lanka, once again, at home.

Only nine fifties have been observed in this duration, and the only two players who have been able to script some sort of a mark have been Reeza Hendricks and Rassie van der Dussen, who have a combined five fifties to their name.

David Miller, or “Killer Miller” has been one of the senior players who has let down his team, unable to live up to his reputation. A career T20I average of 30.02, might not be the worst but it in no way does justice to his super-human hitting skills.

Though he has played 88% of the games his team has played since his debut, Miller has only managed two fifties and one hundred in his career. His maiden ton came against Bangladesh at Potchefstroom in October 2017, incidentally also de Villiers’ last T20I, and he has only raised his bat once thereafter when he scored an unbeaten 65 against Pakistan earlier this year.

In 12 innings since his hundred, Miller has been dismissed for less than 25 seven times and has only crossed 40 once, and inconsistency is something that has constantly plagued the player.

Miller, with almost double the games that skipper Quinton de Kock has played, is the highest capped member in the side. With plenty of IPL experience under his belt, Miller’s invaluable insights will be of great importance to a team that, on paper, looks incapable of giving the high-flying Indians a run for their money.

Skipper de Kock has amassed just over 880 runs in the format thus far, with a below-par average of 27.71, which is in huge contrast to his ODI average of over 45. With the leader not able to translate his 50-over form to the shortest format, and with plenty of youngsters in the line-up, who might be intimidated by the barrage of slower deliveries that the Indians fire them with, the onus will be on Miller to not only handle his inexperienced team with care, but to raise his game as well, even though his personal struggles against spin are well documented.

His IPL career has seen Miller at his inconsistent best. He started off by catching the cricket-crazy country India by storm as he scored his maiden IPL hundred way back in 2013 and then helped his franchise to the finals a year later, but since 2016, his struggles are all too real. He has not been able to score more than 215 runs in a single season in the last four years, and the fact that he has played only 18 games in the last three years reflect his poor prowess on the slow tracks in India.

However, time and again, Miller has answered back strongly when pushed down, and despite all his inconsistent showings, still has had a huge hand to play in the Proteas’ T20I successes – whatever they might be – in the last few months.

Since the start of 2018, the batsmen from 1-7 from South Africa have averaged 37.61 in wins, which is the third best in the world among Test-playing nations. Miller has had a huge role to play in the success, averaging close to 40 in wins, scoring 158 runs in seven innings.

It goes on to highlight the role of the left-hander, and how his contributions are vital in the success of the side. On the other hand, the Kings XI Punjab player averages a paltry 15 in losses – his team is likely to lose when he is unable to contribute regularly.

A closer look will reveal that Miller, when pushed up the order has always fared well for his side. When he bats at number 4, his average nears 40 in eight innings as opposed to when he bats at 5 or lower. At 5, his average stands at 28.45 and though there is a slight jump to 31 when he comes out at number 6, the fact of the matter remains that Miller is at his devastating best when he walks out two down.

His batting strike rate at number four is 178.94, which falls to 139.46 at five and 134.36 at six. Instead of smashing the ball out of the park at will in the end, Miller rather excels when he has had a taste of the conditions initially, and that is a role the South Africans might look to bestow upon him in the upcoming series.

There is no denying that for South Africa to come out trumps, they will need Miller to be at his best. Whether he is pushed up the order or not, his experience and his fighting spirit will be of utmost importance, as the Proteas hope to start their road to redemption with a breakthrough series win against India.

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