Colin Miller
Colin “Funky” Miller, now 55, won’t go as far as to call himself a pioneer ... In an era when Australian spin bowling was more commonly of the leg-break persuasion, boasting superstars as towering as Shane Warne and understated as Stuart MacGill, Miller dared to go the other way.
After beginning his career as a medium-pacer for Footscray in the local leagues, a serendipitous turn of events had him bowling off-spin – first as a necessary adjustment on a domestic level and then permanently on the international stage to add variety to one of world cricket’s greatest-ever bowling attacks.
His 18-Test career saw him take 69 wickets and earn plenty of applause, culminating in being crowned the nation’s best Test player in 2001.
Now residing in Las Vegas, Miller says the modern game – and the action-packed arena of Twenty20 – would have suited both his bowling style and sense of swagger. While he may not be the GOAT, Miller was a one-of-a-kind character that Australian cricket will always remember fondly.
Still got the hair dye in, Funky?
My hair is grey these days. I stopped dying it probably a year or so after I finished playing, in 2002. I did a couple of colours for a couple of charity gigs and a couple of sponsors’ nights and that was about it.
You had some colour in when you met the Queen, didn't you?
I had pink! When I met the Queen, my hair looked like fairy floss. I forgot she was coming in. I had it red that week and the
