At 37, David Miller adds invaluable experience to South Africa‘s side, with 178 ODIs under his belt, 28 of which have come against Australia, their opposition in the upcoming ODI series.
Miller would look to add to the number on 24 September, in what would be his first ODI outing since March 2025.
The first ODI between the sides will be start of a busy home season, including a number of ICC World Test Championship fixtures, followed with a continued build-up towards the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup next year.
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David Miller hit 13 boundaries during his 101
Miller looked forward to deliver for the Proteas in the white-ball formats of the game. Speaking to reporters, ahead of the ODI fixtures, the player had his eyes set on a maiden Cricket World Cup title.
“[The Cricket World Cup] is obviously a quest, and a dream come true. Every player, every team going to the World Cup, wants to win the World Cup.”
Miller outlined his thought-process going into his fourth Cricket World Cup.
“Things got to work out, you got to align things with your team, where you want to go and how you want to play. So all those things come into play, and we’ve played really good cricket in the last couple of years. In World Cups, we haven’t won a World Cup but we’ve certainly be knocking on the door.”
South Africa bore close losses in their last two semi-final appearances (in 2015 and 2023) and Miller believed that the team needed to work out the process, without forcing the pressure of expectations on themselves.
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“Sometimes, when you’re striving too much for something, errors come into play, and you kind of get frantic and you don’t think clearly. So that’s something that we’re focussing on, just allow the process to be, making sure we prepare really well, and doing the best that we can, and our skills will outplay anything if we play to those skills. It’s just keeping it really simple, it’s a cliche, but it really is the way forward.”
Discussing further on next year’s Cricket World Cup, Miller was chuffed at the prospect of playing in front of home crowd.
“Being at a World Cup in itself is amazing. But it being at home, is something even more special. It would be a dream come true.”
“There’s still a bit of hard work to do until then, couple of series, it’s just over a year away. Lot of hard work for myself, to put myself in a position to make it that team.”
Miller’s last appearance in the ODI format came in the Champions Trophy, when he scored an unbeaten century in a loss to New Zealand in the semi-finals.
He has however featured in a host of T20 tournaments around the world, and believes the same keeps him ready for the upcoming three-game series against Australia.
“I’m actually feeling very good with my game. I’ve been around playing cricket overseas. I’ve been feeling good with the teams that I’ve been featuring for. And I’ve been feeling very nice and fit. My thing is just trying to do my best for whichever team or position I’m in. My thing is to prepare myself really well for the upcoming series. Stay fit and enjoy what is a home series that’s not been around for a long time.”
An added motivation for Miller will be his record against Australia. He average 57.38 against them, a massive lift from a career-average of 42.3, and has three centuries, including a career-best 139 against the current holders of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.
“The situation that I find myself in. Having the opportunity to bat in those games, and manage to get through and get myself in and score those hundreds that I did. There’s no answer to it, I do enjoy playing against Australia.
“They’ve always been a really competitive team, who have really high-skilled players individually. You always want to play against the best. So it’s about that and raising your standards. Being tested against the best is really nice.”
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South Africa v Australia ODI series schedule:
First ODI: September 24, Durban, 10:00 AM
Second ODI: September 27, Johannesburg, 10:00 AM
Third ODI: September 30, Potchefstroom, 1:30 PM
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