The 42-year-old former batter for England and Kent, Rob Key, was on April 17 appointed England’s new managing director of men’s cricket. His immediate appointment to one of the most wholesome jobs in the world game follows the decision to step down from his role in the Sky Sports commentary team.
Key retired from the professional game in 2016 after playing 15 Tests, five ODIs and a single T20I for his country and a 17-year-old long stint at the first-class level. Following his retirement, he joined Sky’s TV and streaming team for broadcasting and commentary work.
He will now bring his on and off-field experiences to an even more demanding job. As the new director of men’s game in England, Key will be responsible for strengthening England’s strategy and performance pathways and play a big part in a high-performance review initiated by interim director and former skipper Andrew Strauss.
Key hasn’t been an administrator before but he was considered in contention to take up the director’s role full-time ever since a conversation on commentary during the Pakistan-Australia Test series in March where he jokingly said he is in the running to bag the post. There have been reports that former Australian batter Marcus North’s ouster from the race further helped clear the deck for his appointment.
“It is an absolute honour to take up this role. The chance to have an impact and make a difference is an opportunity given to very few and I will give it everything I have to try shape the next great era of English men’s cricket.
“I have absolutely loved my time at Sky and I could never have imagined leaving were it not for this incredible opportunity. I’d like to personally thank Bryan Henderson and everyone in the team for their help and support,”
Key said in an England and Wales Cricket Board official release.
Key comes on board at ECB at the time when English cricket is going through one of its lowest vibes in the men’s game. While the limited-overs side of things are looking bright in both ODIs and T20Is under Eoin Morgan, the Test team has gone through 17 matches with a solitary win to show for their effort. This includes home Test losses to New Zealand and India in 2021, with drubbings in India and Australia, as well as West Indies placed either side of them.
The 4-0 hammering in Australia this winter led to multiple sackings, including full-time director of cricket Ashley Giles, head coach Chris Silverwood. Following suit was Joe Root, the Test captain, who resigned from his position after a 1-0 loss in the Caribbean in March.
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Consistent losses, and just the way England have played, particularly in the batting department, have also once again raised question marks on the quality of cricket played by England players at the domestic level and whether the County Championship is fit for purpose in its existing 18-team format.
With the next international summer starting June, Key’s immediate priorities will be to identify the new head coach and the new Test captain and ensure that the side competes with New Zealand, India and South Africa at home and then in the winter in Pakistan and New Zealand.
His long-term goals would include refining the county game, helping it bridge the alarming gap with Test cricket and rejuvenate England’s fortunes at the highest level. The high-performance review could lead to a major shift in English cricket, with changes expected in the running of the first-class game.
