David Miller: The Hero who (Almost) Saves the Day

It's not easy being the chairperson of the David Miller fan club. For whatever reason, he seems to have less latitude than similar players. Maybe it is because his destructiveness is never quite enough, although this is hardly ever his fault. In the 2015 World Cup, South Africa's efforts at securing a berth into the showpiece game was not enough, but Miller himself scored 49 runs off 18 balls in a whirlwind final assault. Crucially though, he got out in the final over. His dismissal cost South Africa a handful of runs in a game which went down to the penultimate ball.

Similarly, in the 2013 Champions Trophy, as the entire Protea batting squad elected to commit hara kiri, Miller, who had come in at seven scored a defiant 56 to help South Africa score a less embarrassing 175. It was never going to be enough, but considering they were 80/8 at some point, 175 could be considered blushes spared. Regardless, though. South Africa lost. Add to that the fact that Faf du Plessis picked a must-win match against India in the 2017 Champions Trophy to re-open the Faf du Plessis Run Out Academy - he ran out AB de Villiers and Miller within five balls - which prevented Miller from even attempting in game heroics during that match. While we are on that topic, though, never forget that Faf du Plessis ran out AB de Villiers and David Miller within five balls of each other. Regardless, Miller was defiant, and the Proteas lost. This has generally been the issue, and likely the reason why the people tend to underrate him. On the biggest stages, Miller's heroics have not been enough to save the Proteas from the burning building. You don't watch Superman to see him almost save Lois Lane. To continue this metaphor, largely through no fault of his own, David Miller has almost saved us without ever getting the help required to save us. It's not his failings, but rather those of his teammates which Miller wears for some reason. And it is those failings that fans hate