Keith Miller - Early Years

Early Years

Born in the western Melbourne suburb of Sunshine, Miller was the youngest of Leslie and Edith Miller's four children. He 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. The three Miller boys played Australian rules football in winter and cricket in summer. Their father had been a successful local cricketer and taught the boys to play with an orthodox and classical technique, relying on a solid defence and concentration in the mould of Bill Ponsford. At the age of seven, Miller's family moved to Elsternwick, a more central suburb of Melbourne. As a child, Miller was small for his age, which forced him to develop his technique rather than rely on power, something that held him in good stead for the future.

At the age of 12, he was selected for an under-15 Victorian schoolboys cricket team. At the time, he stood only 150 centimetres (4.9 ft) tall and wielded a sawn-off bat. His lacked power, but he impressed with his footwork and style. However, 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.

Miller attended the selective Melbourne High School, where Australian Test captain Bill Woodfull was his mathematics teacher. Miller was a mediocre student, which disappointed Woodfull; however, Woodfull quickly noticed Miller's cricket skills. Aged 14, Miller was selected for the school's first XI, scoring 44. His control and solidity prompted the spectators to call him The Unbowlable—Woodfull's own nickname. In 1934, 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 Truscott, Miller's school cricket captain took him to a trial with local club side St Kilda at the start of the 1934–35 season, but Miller could not find a place in any of its five teams. Joining the local sub-district cricket club Elsternwick instead, he did not get to bat or bowl in his first match, and was dropped to the second XI for his poor fielding. Nevertheless, his team-mate, former Victoria state player Hughie Carroll, spotted Miller's talent and lured him to the rival South Melbourne club. Miller began playing for South Melbourne the following season. It was at South Melbourne that Miller met Ian Johnson and Lindsay Hassett, his future Australia captains. Miller scored 12 not out on debut, but observers felt he would succeed with a stronger physique; Woodfull wrote in the 1936 school magazine, "Miller has Test possibilities".

In March 1936, Miller played for South Melbourne against Carlton, captained by Woodfull. Miller came to the crease at 6/32. He guided his team to 141, putting on a stand of 65 with the last man and finishing with 61. The crowd gave Miller a standing ovation, and newspapers him compared him to Ponsford and Alan Kippax. The Carlton team presented him with a silver eggcup, "for sterling performance", which Woodfull presented to Miller during an algebra class.