David Miller furious at ICC over ‘unfair’ Champions Trophy scheduling

South African batter David Miller has slammed the International Cricket Council (ICC) after his team's Champions Trophy semi-final defeat against New Zealand in Lahore.  

Miller expressed frustration over the scheduling and travel arrangements, which he believes affected the Proteas' performance.  

South Africa and Australia, the two semi-finalists from Group B, had to travel to Dubai after their last group-stage matches because India’s opponent for the semi-final was not confirmed until their victory over New Zealand. Once India won, South Africa had to fly back to Pakistan for their match against New Zealand, while Australia remained in Dubai to face India.  

Miller, who scored a brilliant century in the match, was unhappy with the travel schedule.  

"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 left-handed batter played a stunning knock, scoring a century off just 67 balls—the fastest in Champions Trophy history. He broke Virender Sehwag's record of a 77-ball century from 2002.  

Miller also became the first South African to score two centuries in ICC knockout matches, having done so previously against Australia in the 2023 World Cup semi-final.  

Despite his efforts, South Africa lost to New Zealand by 50 runs, ending their Champions Trophy campaign. New Zealand will now play India in the final on March 9 in Dubai.