Keith Miller

Australian all-rounder and World War II fighter pilot widely regarded as the greatest all-rounder in the country's cricket history, celebrated for his flair and fearless approach to both war and sport.

Born on 28 November 1919 in Sunshine, Victoria, Keith Miller made his first-class debut for Victoria in 1937 before enlisting in the Royal Australian Air Force in January 1942. He trained as a fighter pilot, flying Mosquito combat missions over Germany during the final year of the war in Europe, surviving several dangerous missions and a bad crash-landing that injured his back. Miller played cricket for RAAF and Australian Services teams during the war, featuring in the 1945 'Victory Tests' that helped re-establish international cricket after the conflict, and made his official Test debut for Australia against New Zealand in 1946. He quickly established himself as one of the finest all-rounders the game had seen, forming Australia's first-choice new-ball pairing with Ray Lindwall. Over a 55-Test career, Miller scored 2,958 runs at an average of 36.97, including seven centuries, and took 170 wickets at 22.97, taking five wickets in an innings on seven occasions. English writer John Arlott famously said that if he needed one player to win a match off the last ball — whether by catch, six, or wicket — he would choose only Keith Miller. Known for his irreverent, free-spirited character both on and off the field — a trait he attributed to having faced genuine mortal danger during the war, which put the pressures of sport in perspective — Miller retired from Test cricket in 1956 and went on to a long career as a cricket journalist for the Daily Express. He died on 11 October 2004 at age 84.

Fast bowler and attacking batsman with a flair for the dramatic in decisive moments

Widely regarded as Australia's greatest-ever all-rounder and one of cricket's most colourful characters