Craig McMillan has been one of New Zealand's most controversial sports figures over the past decade. While his career has had its share of highlights, it has also been punctuated with controversy.
McMillan, a player who had been gifted international selection from the age of 21, began his career productively and in March 2001 he took a world record 26 runs off one Younis Khan over in a Test against Pakistan at Hamilton. His destructive batting perhaps promised more than he delivered, however, and he was forced to test his resolve when overlooked for a tour of Sri Lanka in 2003. McMillan returned with 83 not out and an unbeaten century in India in 2003-04 to cement his Test spot but 18 months later lost it again and was views as purely a limited-overs option. He was New Zealand's leading run-scorer at the ICC World Twenty20. It was to be his final international tournament, as he announced his retirement at the age of 31 in October 2007.
Author Biography
Neil Reid has been a full-time journalist for 15 years, and is presently the Rugby Editor of the Yahoo!Xtra website. Previously he worked in the Sunday News sports department for eight years, including a four-year tenure as Sports Editor, during which time he covered two Olympic Games, the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games, David Tua's unsuccessful heavyweight world title fight against Lennox Lewis in Las Vegas and numerous Black Caps, All Blacks and Kiwis tours. He has also covered the All Blacks' last two Rugby World Cup campaigns in Australia and France. This is Neil's first major biography. In 2007 he co-authored The Year That Was with Peter Leitch, a look at the Kiwis' dramatic 2006 Tri-nations campaign.
