Before this blog was started, two great English cricketers, Colin Cowdrey and Brian Statham, died fairly close together, around the same time as the incomparable Stan Matthews. Miller, like all three, was a “throwback” to a different era in sports, the like of which we will not see again. Very different people from very different backgrounds but with a common value system as far as sports go. Give it your all, but it’s only a game. Statham was a particular hero of mine. The archetypal Lancashire man. Soft spoken, laconic, gentle, honest but a fierce competitor. I watched “George” bowl for hours at Old Trafford, many from right behind his arm. He was relentless; off-stump on a length, ball after ball and quick, to the end. He must have been murder to face. He was also a joy to watch, in a different way from his Yorkshire “twin”, “Fiery Fred” Trueman. Fred had a classic fast bowler’s action, full of menace as he accelerated into the stumps. Statham’s was unique; lithe and whippy but just as smooth. We will not see his like again, either.