12 October 2004	Tuesday	26 Shaban 1425

MELBOURNE, Oct 11: Australian Keith Miller, rated one of cricket's greatest and crowd-pleasing all-rounders, died here on Monday aged 84, a family spokesman said.

Miller, who played in Don Bradman's Invincibles team on the 1948 tour to England, passed away peacefully at a nursing home on the Mornington Peninsula south of Melbourne, the spokesman said.

Miller made his Test debut in 1946-47 against New Zealand and retired after the 1956 tour to England. As an aggressive middle-order batsman, Miller was one of the game's biggest hitters and thrilled crowds with his dashing play.

Miller had the perfect riposte when asked if he ever felt under pressure on the cricket field. "Pressure, I'll tell you what pressure is," he said. "Playing cricket is not," he said in reference to his flying combat experience in World War II.

"He was the finest all-rounder I came into contact with - he could bat, bowl, field and he could fly an aeroplane," Australia's oldest living Test cricketer Bill Brown said on Monday.

Miller is one of only three Australian cricketers, along with Bradman and Victor Trumper, to be honoured with a portrait in the Lord's Long Room in London. He was named at No 6 in Australia's cricket team of the 20th century and made his last public appearance at the unveiling of a statue in his honour at the Melbourne Cricket ground in February.

A gifted all-round sportsman, Miller played 50 Victorian Football League (now AFL) games for St Kilda and represented Victoria in 1946. After retiring from cricket, Miller spent 20 years as the cricket correspondent for London's Daily Express and received an MBE for his services to the sport.

His wife Marie was with him when he passed away. He would have been 85 next month. "Nugget" Miller was regarded as Australia's best all-rounder," Cricket Australia said in a statement. The right-armer took 170 wickets at an average of 22.97 in 55 Tests from March 1946 to October 1956, scoring 2,958 runs at 36.97 including seven centuries.

Fans of Test cricket in the 1940s and 50s would recall Miller turning at the end of his bowling mark, pausing briefly to fold the sleeve on his right arm and flicking his mop of black hair back on his brow before gliding towards the crease for another fiery delivery.

In 2000 Australia named Miller at number six in their team of the century. One of the most famous stories about Miller's swashbuckling attitude to life was his apparent instruction to team mates when captaining New South Wales in a first-class match. After he was told he had 12 players on the field, Miller said: "One of you blokes (get) off and the rest scatter." -Agencies