Town eventually won an extraordinary game against Crewe 6-4 at a rain-soaked Portman Road. The visitors fought back from 2-0 and 3-2 down to level, with the help of two Town own goals, but in the end the Blues just about did enough to take a vital three points.
As expected Jermaine Wright took over from the suspended Fabian Wilnis at right-back with Ian Westlake coming in at left midfield.
It was Miller who got the afternoon's scoring underway in just the third minute, half-volleying low into the corner of the net from the edge of the area after a Crewe defender had semi-cleared.
Only six minutes later the Town number eight scored a second, even better goal. Pablo Couñago brought the ball in from the right and teed up the former Hartlepool man, who lashed the ball into the top right-hand corner of Crewe keeper Clayton Ince's net.
The early stages were almost all Town with the Railwaymen's only efforts wild shots from strikers Steve Jones and Dean Ashton.
Pablo Couñago had started brightly and hit three efforts in close succession, one wide, one saved by Clayton Ince and one which was deflected wide off Jim Magilton.
On 26 a corner from Jim Magilton on the Town left led to a scramble in the Crewe box. John McGreal and Tommy Miller both got headers in but the visitors cleared, although none too convincingly.
Just after the half hour Ben Rix headed wide of Kelvin Davis's post. Crewe were getting more into the game as it wore on and in the 35th minute they pulled a goal back.
Ian Westlake was well out of position as Kenny Lunt brought the ball forward on the Crewe right. No Town player seemed keen to cover for the absent Westlake and Lunt was given time enough to pick out Ashton, the striker beating Davis off the crossbar.
Two minutes later Shefki Kuqi put a good ball across the Crewe box but there was no Town player on hand to convert.
Tommy Miller, still unsure whether to accept the invitation to play international football for Scotland, hit a left-foot shot which Ince uncomfortably saved in the 39th minute. For Crewe, Jones headed a freekick from the centre circle wide.
Miller was again on the hunt for his first Town hat-trick on 42, but this time Ince had little trouble in gathering. Just before the break Neil Sorvel hit a 25-yard shot which Kelvin Davis plucked from the air.
A decent start to the half had put the Blues in a superb position but the performance had rather drifted in the latter stages, and the Crewe goal had got the Railwaymen well and truly back in the game.
Town almost went further ahead in the 46th minute. Tommy Miller did well on the right and crossed for Kuqi in the box. The ball failed to fall for the Finn and when he did get his shot in, he squeezed it by the post.
The miss proved costly as the Alex went straight up the other end and equalised. Ashton crossed from the left and John McGreal inadvertently slipped the ball past Kelvin Davis, the pair clearly suffering from a communication failure.
On 52 Tommy Miller again went searching for his third goal and forced Ince into a fine save. As they sought to get on to the rebound, Miller and Naylor fell over one another but emerged from the clash with smiles on their faces.
Town's third goal came three minutes later, Matt Richards crossing from the left and Shefki Kuqi rising with a defender and keeper Ince to head home from the edge of the six yard box. Kuqi ran away and bellyflopped to the ground in celebration.
With Town 3-2 up, Joe Royle decided to make a couple of changes, Drissa Diallo coming on for Chris Bart-Williams and Martijn Reuser replacing Ian Westlake. Diallo, making his first appearance since September, went to right-back with Jermaine Wright moving into the centre of midfield.
Wright went looking for his fourth goal of the season in the 58th minute, his 30-yarder rebounding out to Reuser, whose cross was grabbed by Ince.
On the hour Tommy Miller ran on to a Wright pass over the top, Ince coming out to block at his feet, giving Town a corner.
Two minutes later Kuqi won the ball off a hesitant defender and played it into Couñago on the edge of the area in space. The Spaniard's shot was goal bound until it was deflected wide.
Despite the Blues coming increasingly close to a fourth, in the 64th minute Crewe got themselves back on terms. Richard Naylor poorly cleared to Ashton on the 18-yard line, the striker's was shot saved by Davis but pushed on to Matt Richards and into the net for Town's second own goal of the afternoon.
Four minutes later Town were back in front. Pablo Couñago played the ball out to Martijn Reuser on the right. The Dutchman shaped as if to cross but launched the ball over Ince and into the net.
Town's victory finally looked assured when Kuqi played the ball to Couñago halfway inside the Crewe half. The former Celta Vigo man brought the ball forward before hitting a powerful, low shot which Ince got an hand to but couldn't prevent entering the corner of the net, making the score 5-3.
On 77 Ince punched a dangerous Wright cross out to Reuser, the Dutchman shooting over.
The last ten minutes seemed set to be a nervous time for Town fans when a long ball forward wasn't headed clear by John McGreal. James Robinson nipped in behind him and shot across Kelvin Davis and into the net.
Davis was on his mettle a minute later when he saved well from an unmarked Kenny Lunt just inside the Town box and looking likely to equalise.
With six minutes remaining Joe Royle introduced Georges Santos for Jim Magilton, the Frenchman making a number of solid blocks and challenges in his time on the field.
One of these blocks led to him playing the ball to Couñago who in turn passed to Kuqi on halfway. The striker ran powerfully forward, went between two defenders and struck a low shot into the corner of Ince's net before doing his trademark bellyflop goal celebration.
Even in injury time there were chances at each end, Jermaine Wright having a shot saved and Kelvin Davis doing well to tip a Kenny Lunt freekick round the post.
A quite bizarre game which Town ought to have had won in the first half an hour after Tommy Miller's goals in the first nine minutes had put them ahead.
Clearly the atrocious conditions played a big role in the high scoreline, but once again individual errors made the game a lot harder work than it should have been.
As so often communication between Kelvin Davis and his defence seemed hazy at times, particularly for John McGreal's own goal, while Richard Naylor's failure to clear properly for the Crewe third was the kind of unforced error he's been less prone to of late.
At the other end Miller's two goals were struck perfectly and he was unlucky not to notch a hat-trick. Kuqi took his two well, although may have had another prior to Crewe's second, while Reuser and Couñago, like Miller, hit contenders for the Town goal of the season.
The most important thing was that three valuable points were won with one or two results elsewhere also going Town's way.
Town: Davis, Wright, Richards, McGreal, Naylor, Bart-Williams (Diallo 55), Magilton (Santos 84), Miller, Westlake (Reuser 55), Kuqi, Couñago.