‘I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t interested’: Miller on Proteas’ T20 captaincy

Proteas white ball batting star David Miller says he was interested in the captaincy of the T20 side but that Aiden Makram was an excellent choice for the job.

Miller said he would give his full support to new T20 skipper Markram and the new management.

Sweeping changes to the national side have followed Rob Walter taking over the ODI and T20 coaching duties, and Shukri Conrad the Test team.

Makram replaced Temba Bavuma to lead the T20 team. Bavuma retained the ODI captaincy, where he will lead the team in the third 50-over match against the West Indies at Senwes Park in Potchefstroom on Tuesday (10am)

He was also was promoted to lead the Test side in place of Dean Elgar, where Bavuma started with a 2-0 victory against the tourists.

Bavuma was in form in the Tests and superb again with a knock of 144 in 118 balls in the high-scoring second ODI in East London on Saturday, which was not enough to prevent a 48-run defeat for the Proteas. The West Indies lead the three-match series 1-0 after the first ODI was washed out.

As an experienced campaigner in the format, Miller, 33, was considered as one of the options for the T20 captaincy.

“I would be lying if I said I wasn’t interested,” he said on Monday.

“I’ve really enjoyed the journey I've had over the years with the Proteas and the experience that I’ve got and the fact that I’m not a captain, I’m not bitter towards anyone.

“I want to put my best foot forward for the team and obviously support Aiden in that role. I think he is an extremely great leader, he has a lot of maturity and just the very calmness about him that sort of moves through the change room. I think it’s a great option.

“With Rob coming in as a new coach they are going to form a great combination and I’m certainly there to support the guys in whatever they need from me.”

The Proteas will be boosted in Potchefstroom by the availability of experienced campaigners such as Miller, Makram and Heinrich Klaasen, who missed the first and second ODIs.

“I really hope [we will add] a lot,” Miller said. “It was really nice to see the young guys coming in. [And also the] not-so-young, but also the new guys who got the taste of international cricket.

“I think it’s really healthy at the moment with the standard that we’ve got and I think it’s just a matter of time before all these new guys start performing at their best.

“I’ve been [in the national set-up] for many years now and I just want to make any impact I can on and off the field and feed off my experience to the new squad.

“As I've always said that I’m learning myself so I will be learning from them too because young guys have some different thought processes as they bat and bowl.

“I’m looking to boost the guys on the field and recognising moments in the game I’ve probably seen more than they have, just to keep that communication throughout the game and keep the guys nice and calm.”

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