Stats blatantly lie about David Miller’s need for a break

If one ever needed yet another example of how statistics can blatantly lie, don’t look further than David Miller.

The mercurial Proteas stroke-maker admitted candidly that he needed a break from cricket, which explains why he’s only played two competitive matches since the conclusion of this year’s World Cup.

Yet, Miller still averages 39.71 in ODIs this year, while his T20 average of 27.70 for the past 12 months is only slightly lower than his overall one.

What those numbers don’t reveal is that he’s only made one international fifty this entire year across all formats.

In other words, runs haven’t been exactly piled up.

“I’ve taken some time off over the last couple of months,” said Miller.

“I’ve been in the Kruger National Park recently to just get away from the demands of the game. It’s really important to look after your mental state during your career and it is something that moving forward I’m going to pay a lot more attention to.”

That’s an interesting thing for the 30-year-old to say, who has frustrated fans and observers over the past decade by not quite delivering on his immense talent.

Has that criticism finally gotten to him a bit?

“Cricket is a sport that so much can go against you that you need to have time to reflect,” said Miller, who’s back for the Durban Heat in this season’s MSL.

“Hopefully I still have a lot of years left playing cricket but I want to make sure that I look after myself mentally.”

However, mental steeliness will still only get Miller that far – his reputation, particularly as a T20 star, means opposition attacks consistently strive to find chinks in the armour.

After all, you don’t want to be on the receiving end of Miller at his best.

“As you move on in your career the people you play against work you out. So it’s important that you as a player keep adapting and adding to your own game. This is something that I am aware of and I am working on it,” he said.

“Also the mental shift of being open to being adaptable is important and that helps when you are concentrating on improving your weaknesses.”

That needs to start bearing fruit … for South African cricket’s sake.

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