Is it Miller time for the Test side?
ONE-DAY STALWART ‘CUT OUT’ FOR LONGER FORMAT Proteas might lose Amla and De Villiers in near future.
Rumours are swirling over Hashim Amla ditching the Proteas for a Kolpak contract and AB de Villiers appears set to retire from Test cricket.
It’s little wonder South African cricket is a tad panicked over who the viable candidates are to fill the gap in the middle order.
Yet in the rush to look up names, people are overlooking one: David Miller. And Shukri Conrad, the South Africa A coach, is rather surprised.
“I can’t exactly figure out how it happened, but for some reason David’s still pigeonholed as a oneday specialist,” he said.
“It’s actually ironic. I had a chat with him last week where he specifically told me he’s keen to play in all formats. He wants to be a Test cricketer.”
The 28-year-old backed up those words with deeds. In South Africa A’s 235-run “first Test” victory over their Indian counterparts, Miller stroked a beautiful 78 off 115 balls in the first innings and an aggressive 27 in the second. Both knocks were at No 4.
“He played really well. His greatest strength is that he can maintain a good strike rate without taking too many risks,” said Conrad.
“It’s an important attribute for a modern batsman. Just look at guys like Quinton de Kock or Ben Stokes and how successful they’ve been. David is the same type of player.”
But one good four-day outing won’t immediately change perceptions about Miller. He’s a limited-overs stalwart for the Proteas and a superstar in T20 cricket, especially in the Indian Premier League.
That admittedly limits his opportunities to play four-day cricket, but it doesn’t mean he isn’t willing to turn out for the Knights in the Sunfoil Series.
“It’s another issue David told me about,” said Conrad. “There’s never been a single time where he’s made himself unavailable for four-day cricket. He wants to play. When there’s a chance, pick him.”
Conrad has no doubt Miller can play Test cricket.
“He’s got the skill and mentality for that. I’m encouraged that the national selectors have picked him for this A series.”