[6] Miller's personality – love of the contest, rather than victory, and his larger-than-life rebelliousness and carousing – helped both shape and limit his cricketing career, as he espoused the opposite of the more puritanical values of Donald Bradman, his captain and later national selector.

[9][10][11] He was named after the Australian pioneer aviator brothers Keith and Ross Smith,[11][12] who were half-way through their historic flight from England to Australia at the time Miller was born.

Their father had been a successful local cricketer and taught the boys to play with an orthodox and classical technique,[10] relying on a solid defence and concentration in the mould of Bill Ponsford.

[76][80][81][82][83][84] Miller played his first match at Lord's against Warner's XI, a team that featured past, current and future England players, including Bob Wyatt, Gubby Allen, Trevor Bailey and Alec Bedser.

[91] The success of RAAF and Dominions that season, especially the attractive batting by Miller and Keith Carmody,[92] prompted Warner to begin planning for a "Test" series between the respective armed services of England and Australia.

[103] On a trip back to Ouston to visit former comrades, a night of drunken revelry saw Miller charged with eight offences and facing possible dishonourable discharge.

[139][140][141][142] In the second innings, Miller bowled a fierce spell,[137] hitting Test world record holder Len Hutton and Cyril Washbrook on the arm and head respectively, provoking an angry crowd reaction.

Not wanting to fly tour flights over Germany, Miller lodged bogus reports saying that the Mosquitoes were malfunctioning, causing unnecessary maintenance work.

[161] In the Fifth Victory Test, under overcast conditions against a swinging and seaming ball, Miller struck 14 from his first over and finished 77 not out, in a display that featured strong cutting and driving.

[202][204] When the servicemen batted, they faced an attack featuring leading leg spinner Bill O'Reilly and paceman Ray Lindwall, the fastest in Australia.

With only one partner left, Miller attacked, scoring 31 of the last 33 runs to end unbeaten on 105, and earning plaudits among cricket pundits on Australian soil.

[219] Miller played with more aggression than during his pre-war years and his high leaping marks were a noted feature of a season that saw him chosen to represent Victoria against South Australia.

[221][222] Under such circumstances, Miller contemplated quitting Australian cricket and accepting a professional contract with Rawtenstall in the Lancashire League, valued at £1,000 per year,[223] for three seasons.

He therefore approached his employers for two months leave so that he could travel to the United States to marry Wagner, which would allow him time to return in preparation for the international series.

[235] He played aggressively to reach his fifty in just 80 minutes, striking a six onto the roof of the members' stand at long on, the biggest hit at the ground at the time,[236] before being trapped leg before wicket by Doug Wright for 79 as Australia made 645.

Miller cut through the English top order, removing Edrich, Washbrook, Compton and Jack Ikin on the fourth morning, finishing with 7/60 as England made 141 and were forced to follow on.

Miller had a quiet match, scoring 40 and taking one wicket on a spin-friendly pitch as Australia secured another innings victory,[216][242][243][244][245] but showed he was in prime batting form when he returned to the Sheffield Shield.

The Englishmen utilised leg theory to prevent easy scoring, but as the tail began to be dismissed, Miller accelerated, launching drives into the crowd, despite the presence of four men on the fence.

[216] In a rain-shortened match, Miller again earned the ire of the crowd, after aiming a series of bouncers at Edrich, in apparent retaliation to the Englishman's bouncing of Lindwall.

Owing to his fragility, Miller was used sparingly compared to the other four Australian frontline bowlers: Toshack and Johnson each delivered more than 170 overs despite playing in one less Test, while Lindwall bowled 224 and Johnston 306 in five matches.

"[313] With respect to his persistent bouncing of Hutton and Compton, Fingleton said that it was up to England to develop bowlers of express pace—which they lacked at the time—to retaliate against or deter the Australians from pursuing such tactics.

The English had also been bamboozled by the leg spin and left arm orthodox of Sonny Ramadhin and Alf Valentine, who took 59 wickets between them in four Tests against England.

[425] During a stopover at Naples, Miller was locked inside after entering a private opera rehearsal without authorisation, but managed to escape and rejoin the boat as it was about to leave.

[425] During his career, several cricket books were published under Miller's name, and he was embroiled in further controversy when one ghost-written tome, which was printed as the team left for England, criticised his captain Hassett as being too cautious.

[482] Upon receiving an inquiry about the health of his knee before the match by Prime Minister of Australia Robert Menzies, Miller agreed to try to bowl for a short period and lift his team.

[497][498] After leading his state to another Sheffield Shield title and a win over England,[498] Miller replaced Morris as the vice-captain for the tour of the West Indies that started in early 1955.

[524][525][526] Miller then turned up late to a coaching clinic the next day and instead of teaching, he made a speech, advising the children to play tennis as there was more money on offer.

[2] Despite his fame, Miller remained a humble man; when asked his favourite cricketing memory, he would recall no incident concerning himself, but "a South Australian team-mate walking onto Lord's to a thunderous ovation a few weeks after his release from a POW camp".

[565][582][583] Miller is one of only three men to have his name on both the batting and bowling honours boards in the visitors' dressing-room there, for scoring both a century and for taking five wickets in a test at the ground.

[149] It is for this reason that he is remembered for his personality and his one-off feats, more than statistical accomplishment; in Ian Chappell's words "People who saw it still talk of Keith Miller's monster shot that hit the Members Stand clock at the SCG in the 1950s".