Richard Miller (cricketer)

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Richard Miller (born ?; died October 1784 at Bridge in Kent) was a noted English cricketer who is generally considered to have been one of the greatest batsmen of the 18th century.

Little is known about Richard Miller personally except that he seems to have been a gamekeeper employed by the Duke of Dorset at Knole House near Sevenoaks and that his burial took place at Bridge in Kent on 31 October 1784. Even his name is subject to question for he is consistently called Joseph Miller in some sources, especially S&B. He may have had a brother who played occasionally. Recent evidence, especially that found by John Goulstone proves that his name was Richard.

Richard Miller is first recorded in a 1768 match and he is known to have made 55 first-class appearances from 1772 to 1783. He was unquestionably an outstanding batsman and probably second only to John Small in the 18th century. He made numerous good scores as the match details consistently show.

His best known performance was for Kent v Hampshire at Sevenoaks Vine in August 1774 when he made 95 out of 240 and enabled Kent to win by an innings and 35 runs. This score was briefly the highest individual score recorded in first-class cricket (i.e., since the statistical record began in 1772), beating the 88 scored by William Yalden in 1773. Miller’s "world record" lasted only a year until John Small beat it with the first-ever first-class century.