David Miller Unhappy with Champions Trophy’s “Unideal” Schedule, Says It Affected South Africa
David Miller was disappointed with the scheduling of the Champions Trophy, which forced South Africa to travel from the UAE back to Pakistan in a short span of time.
Miller, who scored a century in South Africa’s semifinal loss to New Zealand, expressed his frustration over the situation. After playing a group-stage match against England the previous night, the team had to take an early morning flight to Dubai.
South Africa landed in Dubai on Sunday to get enough time to prepare for the semifinal. However, once the match lineup was confirmed, they had to fly back to Pakistan on Monday morning for their game in Lahore.
“Although the flight lasted only an hour and 40 minutes, having to take it under these circumstances was far from perfect.” We played a match, then had to fly out in the morning, reached Dubai at 4 PM, and had to fly back by 7:30 AM,” Miller said, visibly disappointed after South Africa’s loss to New Zealand in the semifinal on Wednesday.
“It wasn’t great. It’s not like we had a five-hour flight and enough time to recover properly. To be honest, it wasn’t the ideal situation. I’ll be honest with you—I think I’ll be supporting New Zealand in the final,” he added.
New Zealand posted a massive 362/6 at Gaddafi Stadium, thanks to centuries from Kane Williamson and Rachin Ravindra. Miller fought back with a ton of his own, but South Africa fell short, ending at 312/9.
Meanwhile, former cricketers Robin Uthappa and Lalchand Rajput dismissed claims that India had an “unfair advantage” in the tournament.
Reflecting on the loss, Miller said: “There were some great contributions—some early half-centuries, and we had a solid foundation. “Sadly, we surrendered an excessive number of wickets in the crucial middle overs.” Ultimately, cricket is a collective team effort.” He concluded, “Everyone is trying their best. A rematch against India would have been great, but sometimes, life isn’t fair. You have to work really hard to win a trophy.”