McMillan: A sensational prospect (22 October 1998)

22 October 1998

McMillan: A sensational prospect

Syed Ashfaqul Haque and Al-Amin

Craig Douglas McMillan is a star in the making. The 22-year-old batsman is the biggest batting gain of New Zealand in recent times.

The Christchurch-born McMillan possesses the character of a very entertaining cricketer. He is one of a few cicketers who believes in going for strokes and the combative element in him shines through his approach. Born on September 13, 1976, the middle-order bat started his career at the age of 17. The ball-bashing player plays for Canterbury in the Shell Shield tournament at home.

On his debut Test in Brisbane early this earlier, the young cricketer showed all the signs of a great cricketer as he sent the fearsome Australians on a leather-hunt. When all of his illustrious teammates sweated and stuttered while facing the wizardry of leg-spinner Shane Warne and fast bowler Glenn McGrath, the unheralded McMillan rose to the occasion by hammering the revered duo all around the field. He scored a gutsy half-century in that match.

McMillan is no stranger to this sub-continent. It is his third visit to this region but first to Bangladesh.

He made his one-day international debut against Sri Lanka at the three-nation Independence Cup in Hyderabad.

In eight Test matches he scored 560 runs which included two hundreds and five half-centuries.

McMillan, who is also a part-time pacer, is yet to score a hundred in one-day matches. His highest score is 86. The bubbly batsman had an encounter with The Daily Star Sport at the Sonargaon Hotel lobby yesterday.

Daily Star: You seem to enjoy attacking cricket?

Craig McMillan: Yes, I enjoy my cricket. I enjoy hitting boundaries. I believe the track here will be good for batting and I'm looking forward to the tournament.

DS: Your favourite shot ...

CM: Any shot that goes for six.

DS: Who's your idol?

CM: Martin Crowe and Richard Hadlee.

DS: Whom do you rate as the best batsman currently?

CM: Sachin Tendulkar is the best batsman at this moment.

DS: This your first trip to Bangladesh. How does the atmosphere feel?

CM: The condition here is very good. I really like the atmosphere. And obviously I will be looking for scoring a lot of runs in our first game against Zimbabwe to make sure we play another game.

DS: About the pressure and prospect ...

CM: You see, it is a knockout meet. You lose a game and you will have to go home straight. There is a lot of expectation back home. Realistically, we want to win the first game against Zimbabwe. Then, our next opponents will be world champions Sri Lanka, who are very hard to beat.

I do not underestimate the Zimbabweans. The Flower brothers (Andy and Grant) are very good. Their skipper Campbell is a beautiful batsman.

DS: Which version of the cricket do you like most?

CM: I enjoy them both. But I enjoy the one-day game more because it is very quick .. the colour .. coloured clothing ... big crowds and great atmosphere. Test cricket is also very good because it is traditional. It has been around a long time. So, (if) you do well in Test cricket, you will be remembered.

DS: Tell us about your goals.

CM: Obviously, I want to score as many Test centuries as I can and play well for my country over a long period.

Source:: The Bangladesh Daily Star (https://www.dailystarnews.com)