McMillan's selection for the tour was, by general consent, a major surprise. His attitude on the back-to-back tours of Pakistan and Australia had been widely questioned and before the burly all-rounder stepped on the London-bound plane he was left in no doubt that his international future depended on his demeanour.
Peter Pollock, the convenor (chairman) of selectors, said then: ``It would be wrong to write McMillan off as a Test player. His primary job in England will be to bat at number six and stiffen the middle order.''
Yet at Old Trafford the only sop to his seniority was to have been once again made 12th man instead of a total supernumary - which makes a difference in the player's wallet.
All too often in recent overseas tours McMillan has shown a marked unwillingness to give of the ability which once made him South Africa's number one all-rounder since their return to the game seven years ago: a Test batting record of virtually 40 in 37 games with 75 wickets at just over 33.
His distaste for the sub-continent is illustrated by his figures there - a batting average of nine and eight wickets at just under 40.
McMillan, 34, left Pakistan in November before the quadrangular one-day series there and was little missed by colleagues, who felt he had not pulled his weight.
A moderate tour of Australia followed and few thought then that he would again be seen on the world circuit. Yet here he is and by all accounts a model tourist, helping Gary Kirsten over early batting flaws and advising young fast bowler Mornantau Hayward.
There was a moment before the first Test when McMillan and Jonty Rhodes were competing for the sixth batting place. Against Gloucestershire Rhodes gave a taste of his born-again batting, while McMillan ground out two low scores before twice being caught at square leg mistiming pulls.
That might not have been the end of the Test road for 'Big Mac' however. With opening bat Gerry Liebenberg failing at Edgbaston there was some speculation about bringing McMillan back as stop-gap opener.
But McMillan, never a man to mince words, made it plain that he thought he could best serve his country at number six. As a result Adam Bacher replaced Liebenberg and McMillan was left out in the cold.
That is where he is likely to stay for the last two Tests, even though he has a big appetite for England as opponents, taking five wickets in 1994 at Headingley and playing a big part in the home Test win two years later.
McMillan may have suffered, to a degree, by the openly-expressed desire of Ali Bacher that South African sides should now better reflect the country's polyglot nature.
The injury to Shaun Pollock left a gap in the tourist attack that perhaps a year ago would gone without a quibble to McMillan. But Dr Bacher, chief executive of the United Cricket Board, has an ally for his progressive views in Peter Pollock and that may well have the factor in the selection of Makhaya Ntine for Manchester - a decision which sealed McMillan's Test fate, maybe for ever.