Miller slams ICC after South Africa's exit from Champions Trophy

LAHORE: South Africa's batter David Miller criticised the International Cricket Council (ICC) after the Champions Trophy semi-final loss of his team to New Zealand on Wednesday at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.

While expressing his frustration, he pointed to scheduling and travel arrangements, which he believed adversely affected the Proteas' performance.

Both semi-finalists from Group B, South Africa and Australia, had to travel to Dubai after finishing their group-stage matches, as India's semi-final opponent remained uncertain until their victory over New Zealand in the third league match.

After India's win, South Africa had to return to Pakistan for their semi-final showdown against New Zealand in Lahore, while Australia stayed in Dubai to face India.

The left-handed batter, who scored a century against New Zealand, criticised the travel schedule, calling it far from ideal.

"It's only an hour-and-40-minute flight, but the fact that we had to do that was not ideal," Miller said.

"It’s early morning, it’s after a game, and we had to fly. Then we got to Dubai at 4 p.m., and at 7:30 in the morning, we had to come back. It doesn't make it nice. It's not like we flew five hours and had enough time to recover and recuperate. But it was still not an ideal situation," he added.

The 35-year-old was South Africa's standout performer in the semi-final, delivering a stunning century off just 67 balls after coming in at number six—the fastest in Champions Trophy history.

He became the first player to reach the milestone in under 70 balls in the tournament, shattering Virender Sehwag's 23-year-old record of a 77-ball ton against England at Colombo’s Premadasa Stadium in 2002.

Additionally, Miller became the first South African to score two centuries in the knockout stages of ICC events, having previously achieved the feat against Australia in the 2023 World Cup semi-final at Kolkata's Eden Gardens.

Despite his heroics, South Africa fell short, losing to New Zealand by 50 runs. New Zealand will now face India in the final at Dubai International Stadium on March 9.