Last time Australia were in India an Australian cricketing legend passed away on the eve of the first test. You would have expected Bradman’s death to carry such force of inspiration that it would have put the result of the series beyond doubt. But as Sachin Tendulkar noted at the time- “It really doesn’t matter where he played, it was how he played and everybody felt the death, there is no doubt about it.” History shows the Australians won the first test easily but that the Bradman inspiration then switched allegiances and India won the next two tests to clinch series victory. Perhaps Bradman’s timing was out, leaving home a little early.

Now, just prior to the 2nd test, Keith Miller has followed the Bradman strategy – but with a different sense of timing. It will be interesting to see if Miller’s passing, his gift of inspiration, is more effective than Bradman’s. Even if he can only extract the one Test win in his honour Australia will be in an unassailable position in the series. The best India could hope for would be a draw. It would be just like Keith Miller to upstage Bradman, to undermine his rigorous authority. The tribute in yesterday’s Age recounted a story in which Miller was said to have turned up at Bradman’s door, one night while on tour, in his dinnersuit (a lot of the stories about Miller seem to involve dinnersuits and tuxedos) to do his captain the courtesy of informing him that ‘I was in bed at the time of curfew [as set by Bradman] and now I am going out.’ I’m certainly barracking for the Nugget.