South Africa’s David Miller has become the latest player to call out the odd scheduling of the 2025 Champions Trophy following his team’s defeat to New Zealand in the second semi-final. However, the batter was quick to shift the blame for their loss away from the unnecessary travel headaches.
South Africa’s journey through the tournament had been tumultuous, marked by back-and-forth flights between Pakistan and Dubai. While New Zealand’s travel schedule had them flying to Dubai for their final group match before returning to Lahore, South Africa’s travel was more hectic.
After playing England in Karachi, they flew to Dubai on Sunday, only to return to Lahore the following day after realizing they wouldn’t need to play there. The travel took its toll, as Miller pointed out:
“It’s only a one-hour-and-40-minute flight, but the fact that we had to do that [was not ideal],” David 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 for five hours and had enough time to recover and recuperate. But it was still not an ideal situation.”
Despite the travel fatigue, David Miller did not use it as an excuse for the loss and credited New Zealand, acknowledging them as the better team on the day. Miller was the only batter to put up a serious fight against the Kiwis, scoring a magnificent century off the final ball—a poignant moment for him personally, as he dedicated his success to his recently born son. However, in a bittersweet revelation, he admitted that he would have “rather played badly” if it meant South Africa had won.
David Miller and South Africa will once again watch another ICC final from the sidelines as India and New Zealand vie for the title in Dubai on Sunday.