Keith Miller is famous for many things. Brylcream ads, Australia’s last genuine all rounder, romancer of the royal femme and fighter pilot are just a few high on the list.
Perhaps his most quoted utterance had something to do with the notion of ‘pressure’, a term used and over used to describe anything from Question Time in the House to opening your recent superannuation statement.
When asked about the ‘pressure’ that a cricketer may be under when going to the crease after a couple of quick wickets on a seaming pitch in a Test match, he retorted “Pressure?! Pressure?! That’s not pressure. Pressure is when you’re at 20,000 feet in Spitfire, out of ammunition, with a Messerschmidt up your arse!” That may not be verbatim but it is pretty close. (Those readers under 50 years old please google Messerschmidt warplanes ).
Nugget was trying to put it all into perspective and the illustration was a very powerful one for people who have been anywhere near wars. The Palestinians in Gaza at the moment may feel an affinity with Miller’s plight at 20,000 feet.
Matthew Hayden was trying to tell us about the ‘pressure’ he has been under recently with particular emphasis on the media who had the audacity to put in black and white the statistics that painted his recent exploits in the middle of the world’s cricket grounds.
Hayden may well have read Miller’s remarks at some stage as he was one of the leaders of the pack that found Pakistan a much too scary place to play cricket.
Apparently the ‘pressure’ to play with all those security forces surrounding the team would have made it much too difficult to perform the cover drive with his usual elan.
How sad.
Mat the bat said in his farewell speech from the hallowed couch of his beloved ‘Gabba, that he “bore no malice toward the game [of cricket, I assume]”, that being the same game that brought him fame and a considerable fortune, all for simply hitting cricket balls.
It’s a matter of perspective I guess.
Into the Hayden (seemingly impossible to fill) breech has strode the Matraville Mauler, one David Warner. Very few Australian cricket fans had heard of him when he took strike in the vital Twenty20 International at the MCG.
He was dynamic, and ‘Gilchristlike’ it was murmured, and there can be no higher praise for an opening batsmen who prefers to hit sixes rather than steal singles.
After a single innings in the shortest form of the game his reputation had been forged, by the time the team arrived in Brisbane two days later for tense, exciting and ‘pressure’ filled match two, the public and press had tropospheric expectations.
The ‘pressure’ on the boy was enormous and he failed, as opening batsmen often do against the new ball. Michael Clarke’s injury omission for the first One Day International was met with the most overwhelming sense of relief I can ever remember by the punters and the press.
Pup Clarke had been in fine touch, above a group of batsmen who had ceded dominance to the South Africans all summer. This would mean that Warner would be rushed into the starting XI, but what about the now stratospheric ‘pressure’ on the lad, surely he must perform at Bellerive, after all he missed out in Brisbane!
He failed, as opening batsmen often do against opening bowlers.
The pressure now must be well…atmospheric I guess, because he now has the whole weight of the world on his shoulders! You just gotta feel sorry for the 22 year old, all he wants to do is play cricket and have some fun while getting paid (what a bonus, someone please tell Haydos).
The expectations of a nation have fallen blindingly fast, like a fighter plane from 12 o’clock out of the sun, onto a rookies back.
Wouldn’t it be great if ‘Nugget’ Miller was still around to personally give him that advice. Hopefully the boy from the south eastern suburbs housing commission can keep it all in perspective.
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