Bloodied Miller fires Yorkshire to T20 victory

Miller was dealt a sickening blow in the county’s opening qualifying game against Uva Next in Johannesburg.

The 23-year-old tried to pull a bouncer from Pakistan pace bowler Umar Gul which somehow found its way between the peak and grille of his helmet and crashed into his face.

Miller immediately slumped to his knees and was surrounded by concerned Uva Next players and onrushing medical staff.

After taking a few minutes to regain his composure, he retired hurt with blood steadily dripping from his nose and disappeared down the tunnel and into the dressing room.

The powerful left-hander had scored 22 at the time and Yorkshire were 91-4 in the 13th over chasing 151 to beat the Sri Lankan Premier League champions in the opening match of the £2.5m tournament.

Miller looked in a dreadful, disorientated state but, evoking the bravery and belligerence of Yorkshire legend Brian Close, he offered to return to the fray and promptly re-emerged to sit in the dug-out clutching an ice pack to the left side of his face while waiting for the fifth wicket to fall.

When it did, with 10 balls of the innings remaining and with Yorkshire still needing 18 for victory, Miller smashed 17 of them from six balls to send Yorkshire into today’s second and final qualifying game against Trinidad & Tobago knowing that another win will confirm their passage into the tournament proper, which carries a first prize of £1.6m.

After Miller’s heroics helped seal a five-wicket triumph with three balls to spare, Gale revealed the conversation that went on behind closed doors at the Wanderers.

“Dave’s nose was bleeding a lot and he was in a very bad way,” said Gale.

“I just asked the question and he insisted he was more than happy to go back out on the field and that summed up the character of the man.

“Dave’s a very strong character and the situation was perfect for him in many ways because he thrives on that.

“He’s the sort of player who can take the game away from the opposition and that’s exactly what he did.”

Miller’s inspirational display could yet be his only contribution to Yorkshire’s Champions League cause.

He was always going to be unavailable for today’s game due to commitments with his South African franchise Dolphins and then only going to return for the latter stages of the event, which features a qualifying stage of two groups of three sides from which only the top team in each group goes through to the tournament proper.

If Yorkshire win today, they would join the eight already confirmed entrants for the main competition who are all from India, South Africa and Australia, whose cricket boards bankroll the competition.

Those eight sides, plus the two qualifiers, are divided into two groups of five and Yorkshire would be in Group B with Sydney Sixers, Mumbai Indians, Highveld Lions and Chennai Super Kings, with Miller only available for the last of those games against Chennai in Durban on October 22, followed by any semi-final and final.

As it is, Miller, who had been due to fly to Pietermaritzburg last night to rejoin Dolphins ahead of their four-day match against Knights, which starts tomorrow, was forced to delay his flight and undergo a scan.

Yorkshire officials last night said the extent of his injury was unknown.

Even without Miller, Yorkshire are adamant they can go far in the Champions League.

Their performance against Uva Next was not their strongest in Twenty20 this year; there were only echoes of the form that propelled them to the Twenty20 Cup final along with winners Hampshire, which booked both counties’ place in Champions League qualifying.

But Gale believes that even without such stars as Miller, they can still make a mark.

“I think it was massive to get that first win on the board,” said Gale.

“We can definitely improve, but we can also take a lot of confidence from that win going into the Trinidad game.

“We’ve done half the job now in terms of qualifying.

“Now we’ve got to finish it off against Trinidad.”

Should Yorkshire lose today, they will be sweating on the outcome of the final Pool Two qualifying game between Trinidad and Uva Next in Johannesburg tomorrow.

All sorts of permutations could potentially come into play if sides finish level on points, including net run-rate.

Yorkshire can do no more than concentrate on today’s match, however, and try to take those possibilities out of the equation.

It is thanks in no small measure to Miller the magnificent, blood-splattered and thrillingly defiant, that they have an opportunity to do just that.

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Match report: Page 19.

Hampshire’s squad will include Shahid Afridi and Glenn Maxwell, when they face Auckland Aces, of New Zealand, today.

Captain Dimitri Mascarenhas has travelled and hopes to be fit for their opening game.

Auckland last night beat Pakistan side Sialkot Stallions by six wickets in their first game of the tournamnent.