Botham v Miller
13-Jun-2005
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Miller didn't play his first Ashes Test until he was 27 - until then he was preoccupied with fighting Nazis - but he certainly hit the ground running, scoring 79 in his first Ashes innings and then taking 7 for 60. He continued to regularly torment England, even when he was well into his 30s and the invicible Australians had turned into a far weaker outfit. In his final series, Miller, then 36, spearheaded Australia's win at Lord's with 10 wickets in the match.
Botham exploded onto the Ashes scene in 1977 with five wickets in his first bowl, but will be forever remembered for his exploits in 1981 when he turned a series on its head with both bat and ball. His 149 not out at Headingley is the stuff of folklore - that he took 6 for 95 as well is less well known - and thereafter it was Botham's summer as cricket overtook even football in the public's imagination.
The pair's career records in Ashes Tests are impressive. In 26 matches, Miller scored 1511 runs at 33.57 with three hundreds; in 36, Botham scored 1673 runs at 29.35 with four hundreds. With the ball, Miller took 87 wickets at 22.40, Botham 148 at 27.65.
But the real difference is that while Miller got better with age, Botham's best years came when he was a young man. After his 30th birthday, Miller's bowling average was almost identical to his career one while his batting dropped off slightly. In Botham, the decline was marked, and in seven Tests after his 30th birthday his bowling average slipped to 44.74, his batting average to 25.10.
Figures cannot tell the whole story. Whatever they played, crowds flocked to see both men and they brought more to the side than statistics can show. But whereas Miller started strongly and finished while at the top, Botham's final years were ultimately disappointing, mirroring the start of a period where England were perennial Ashes losers.