Keith Miller: The Life of Australia’s Greatest All-Rounder
Keith Miller, who died early in 2005, was perhaps the greatest all-rounder Australian cricket has ever seen. Roland Perry has had full access to Miller's papers and to his family members to produce the definitive biography of his life. Miller was both a fearsome fast bowler and dashing batsman who could take a bowling attack apart. He also had a prodigious appetite for gambling and alcohol - and Princess Margaret appears to have been one of his many liaisons.
In the epic Test battles between England Australia he always played an instrumental part. But he was a legend for another reason: during the war he flew Mosquitos for the RAF, and ever after endured severe "survivor's guilt" that so many of his comrades had perished in service. While his dealings with women could be cavalier, even ruthless at times, to the end of his life he would travel long distances to visit the grave of a fallen colleague in an obscure country churchyard to consecrate their memory. With interest in England-Australia cricket at its highest for years, this biography of Miller will be hugely topical.