Key clicks for England A
The England captaincy is a hot potato at present, with the selectors frantically juggling their options until such time as Michael Vaughan's knee comes back to life. Away from the spotlight at Canterbury, however, Robert Key was demonstrating that leaders
Andrew Miller at Canterbury
06-Jul-2006
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After the battering that the senior side has received in recent weeks, this fixture comes as a welcome opportunity for the England camp to regroup. Consequently the side has been packed with men with several points to prove - not least among them Key himself. As Kent's captain, he is in familiar surroundings, but today's news that Vaughan has officially been ruled out of this winter's Ashes added an extra frisson to his innings.
Key made a favourable impression on the previous trip to Australia four years ago, but hasn't played for the Test side since the tour to South Africa in January 2005. While England's batsmen were dropping like flies in India this winter, he was recuperating from shoulder surgery and so was overtaken in the pecking order by men such as Alastair Cook and Owais Shah.
"It's been a slow start for me in four-day cricket," Key admitted afterwards, having not yet registered a century this season. He began his innings bullishly with four fours and a six before lunch, and later clouted Danish Kaneria straight down the ground for another maximum to bring up his 150 partnership with another recent England discard, Ian Bell.
The conditions were very much in favour of the batsmen, as Key was quick to acknowledge. "We played Notts on a wicket like that," he said. "We got 600 and couldn't bowl them out." But with the likes of Mohammad Asif and Umar Gul obtaining some reverse swing from as early as the 20th over, it was never entirely plain sailing. "They showed some class," he added, "on a wicket where there was no conventional swing and no seam movement."
England suffered an early setback when Cook was caught behind for 3 off Mohammad Sami, a neat low catch in front of first slip by Kamran Akmal, but Akmal was soon forced to leave the field after damaging his left index finger. On the stroke of lunch, clearly discomforted, he dropped Key off Asif for 30 and did not return.
It was an alarm for Pakistan, who have no reserve keeper in their squad and instead handed the gloves to Faisal Iqbal. The uncapped 20-year-old, Zulqarnain Haider, would have been flown in from Lahore in the event of a break, but Pakistan's coach, Bob Woolmer, later confirmed Akmal had suffered nothing more than bruising around the top joint.
Faisal did at least manage to hang onto the one catch that came his way. Bell is becoming a familiar face to this Pakistani attack, having top-scored for the Test team in last winter's tour, a performance that included a century in the second Test at Faisalabad. But this time he was unable to make the most of similarly flat conditions, and was second man out for 74 (187 for 2).
Shah came in at No. 4, as if to showcase the strength of England's middle-order reserves, although judging by the current medical bulletins, they are going to be needed in the weeks and months to come. He made another start, 23 from 97 balls, but was unable to pick up his momentum and eventually edged a low catch to Imran Farhat at slip off Danish Kaneria.
There were four changes for Pakistan, after their eight-wicket win over Leicestershire, with their captain Inzamam-ul-Haq returning in place of vice-captain Younis Khan. Mohammad Yousuf came in for the big-hitting Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq replaced Shoaib Malik in the allrounder's spot, while Asif was given a chance ahead of seamer Shahid Nazir.
Though Pakistan were not fielding their full Test XI, it was nonetheless an important first century of the season for Key, whose recuperation from surgery has been hampered by some "interesting" wickets at the Rose Bowl and Stockton, among others. "Before you know it, you've been nicked off a couple of times," he explained, "and you're staring down the barrel of an ordinary start to the season. But the last two have been perfect for batting, so it's nice to cash in."
Key won't be in contention for the Lord's Test, because his shoulder is still not back to full strength. "I was starting to think I'd never throw again a few weeks ago," he admitted, "but all of a sudden I've starting rocketing them in from about ten yards! But it was a big operation. They reckoned it would take 12 months before I was throwing properly. It's seven or eight now, so give it a couple of months, and it shouldn't be a problem."
That would coincide nicely with the Ashes considerations, and in Vaughan's absence, there is a definite prospect of a tour place for Key. "Any runs are valuable, but this is probably slightly more in the spotlight. This is definitely a set up from county cricket when you come up against an attack like that. You feel more a part of the England set-up, with a different group of people and an England shirt of some means. I think it's a great format."
Andrew Miller is UK editor of Cricinfo