Ed Miller, an English fan, traveled for three months and covered almost 35,000 kilometers to Australia without opting to travel through any Airlines to fulfill his dream and a cause.
Miller reckons that his efforts will help The Oddballs Foundation raise some funds and spread awareness for the fight against testicular cancer. He traveled to Australia through the countries like Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Italy, Slovenia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Mongolia, China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.
In the process, Miller also achieved his dream of watching an Ashes Test in Australia. He witnessed the first day of the Brisbane Test at the Gabba which ended on a low note for England as they were down to 196/4 with the help of half-centuries from James Vince and Mark Stoneman.
Talking about his daring journey, Miller told the International Cricket Council (ICC) that his love for cricket and traveling was the reason behind undertaking this journey. He said,
“It was really mixing my love of cricket and travel. I loved watching TV shows by people like Michael Palin and Charley Boorman and seeing their overland journeys, and always wanted to emulate them but in my own way. And knowing that I wanted to visit Australia for the Ashes series seemed to be a perfect way of mixing them.”
He further added, “I had planned to take a year off work, and as a teacher that meant leaving my job in July, giving me four months before the Ashes. It was then that I decided to come up with the inventive way of getting to Australia. It started as a bit of a dream in my head, but soon gained momentum as I started planning stages of the route and it built up quite quickly from then.”
Miller’s ‘dream’ journey was pretty adventurous as he had to eat ‘weird and wonderful’ food and had to share rooms with snoring roommates in hostels while some people wanted to ruin his dream journey till Brisbane.
Adding to his worries, Miller’s main problem was traveling from Bali to Australia. He said, “Getting from Bali to Australia was the hardest leg as there are no commercial boats that go between the two. I was trying to see if sailing yachts would take me, but they were all heading north – it was apparently low season to be sailing south. However, I managed to find a cruise that was passing through and heading to Darwin. They were giving me a firm ‘no’ to start and seemed intent on not changing their stance. I kept exploring other avenues whilst writing to them daily pleading to change their mind, and with about 30 hours to spare they finally came around and let me on the ship. It was only then that I knew that I would be able to complete the challenge.”
He further elaborated, “The last leg of the journey which was driving from Darwin to Brisbane – a five-day 3,500km road trip. All the car hire places were quoting me AUD $2000 which was way above my budget. Obviously, I wasn’t going to give up at that stage, but it would have been a shame having to spend all that money just to hire a car for five days. However, one girl in a rental place was really helpful and had empathy for my story, and managed to find me, at the last minute, a relocation car that I could drive for $10 a day!”
He finally arrived in Brisbane and backs Englishmen will earn a 3-2 victory for England and Jonny Bairstow will be adjudged the man-of-the-series. Miller also hoping that his journey will raise awareness for a bigger cause. He said, “Undoubtedly it has been an experience of a lifetime, and it has been great to meet so many people from all walks of life. But I have done the trip to charity also so it has been great to raise some money for The Oddballs Foundation who raise awareness for testicular cancer. If you think the trip deserves a few coins then please do visit my donation page.”
Talking about the journey back, Miller said he will rule out all such adventures. He said that he will next hop on a flight for the second Test at Adelaide.
