Robert Key

Robert William Trevor Key (born 12 May 1979) is an English former cricketer and cricket commentator who played international cricket in all formats for England and domestic cricket for Kent County Cricket Club.

He is the current managing director of the England Cricket team.

Key played his first matches for Kent's second eleven in 1995, at the age of sixteen.

He remained a regular in the second team throughout the 1996 season and first half of the 1997 season, by which time he had hit his first two centuries for a Kent representative side; an unbeaten 146 against Essex's second team, and an unbeaten 139 against Glamorgan's seconds.

Following on from those performances, Key joined the England Under-17 squad for the International Youth Tournament, which was being held in Bermuda.

Key's growing reputation as a batsman was greatly enhanced by his performances in this tournament, where he finished with the second highest batting average of anyone at the tournament, scoring 184 runs at an average of 48.

Key's performances helped England win the tournament by a single point from Ireland's Under-17s.

Key returned to England for two matches with Kent's second team, before joining up with England's Under-19s for a youth Test series against Zimbabwe's under-19s.

A right-handed opening batsman, Key made appearances at age-group level for Kent from the age of eleven, moving up until he made his first-class debut in 1998.

He made eight first-class and four List A appearances for England's youth sides, and was a member of the side that won the 1998 Under-19 Cricket World Cup.

In the three Test series, Key made two half-centuries, earning himself a place in the squad for the 1998 Under-19 Cricket World Cup in South Africa.

Batting at the top of the order throughout, Key scored a total of 206 runs as England won the tournament, with his best performance coming in the defeat to India, where Key scored 57.

Following a first-class debut against Middlesex at the beginning of the 1998 season, in which Key scored 15, he proceeded to play a near-complete season.

He scored his first first-class century against Durham, scoring 101 in an innings victory.

He added a second century (115) against Nottinghamshire, before rejoining the England under-19 squad for the series against Pakistan under-19s.

He struggled in the one-day series, scoring just 36 runs in three matches, but finished as the top run-scorer in the youth Tests; with 377 at an average of 62.83.

Following a season of heavy run-scoring, Key was called up to the England A side in 1999.

The 1999 season began for Key with a call up to England A's tour of Zimbabwe through January and February.

Following an injury to Marcus Trescothick, Key made his Test debut against India in 2002.

He toured Australia during the 2002–03 Ashes series, where he justified his selection ahead of a more experienced player.

His One Day International debut came in 2003, against Zimbabwe, however he was dropped from both squads shortly after.

Injury to Mark Butcher allowed Key back into the England side for the series against the West Indies in 2004.

He scored his maiden Test hundred in the first match of the series, which later became his maiden first-class double century as he scored 221.

This performance, coupled with the 93 he scored in the third Test, earned him recognition as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year.

Key's last Test matches came during England's tour of South Africa during 2004–05, where he managed to score 152 runs without being consistent, and despite a one-match return during the 2009 ICC World Twenty20, he has remained on the fringes of selection.

Key became Kent captain following the 2006 English cricket season, following David Fulton's resignation.

He led Kent to a County Championship 2nd Division Championship title in 2010, two Twenty20 Cup Finals Day appearances and a Friends Provident Trophy final.

He resigned as Kent captain following the 2012 English cricket season and James Tredwell became club captain.

Key only had one season off as captain as Tredwell then himself resigned and Key was named as his replacement, captaining the county for another two years until the end of the 2015 season.

In April 2016, Key announced his retirement from all forms of cricket.

Key was a regular commentator on Sky Sports' TV coverage of county cricket while still a player at Kent, and after retiring he worked as a pundit and commentator for a variety of media outlets, including GTV and SEN.

On 17 April 2022, he was appointed as the managing director of the England men's cricket team, stepping down from all of his media commitments.

Born in East Dulwich, London, to parents Trevor and Lynn, Key was raised in a particularly sporting family: his mother played for Kent's ladies cricket side, his father played club cricket in Derby and his sister Elizabeth played for her junior school side, where she once took a hat-trick.

Key himself was a keen all-round sportsman; he also played tennis for Kent.

He attended Worsley Bridge Primary School where the school won both the Bromley area and Kent cricket Cups.

His performances led to his inclusion in the county under-elevens, before Alan Ealham, coach of Kent County Cricket Club's youth sides, became his mentor.

Later he attended Colfe's School in Lee, London, and Langley Park School for Boys in Beckenham, where he passed ten GCSEs.

Key has often been criticized for his weight, and at one stage early in his career weighed 16 stone before Alec Stewart told him to "buck his ideas up".

Key himself said of the matter: "I'll never be the most athletic-looking bloke, but I'm a hell of a lot fitter than I was at 19 or 20."

Key is married to Fleur, with whom he has two children.