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Post by Deleted on May 14, 2015 20:23:00 GMT
Strong rumours that Rob Key may have played his last game.
He's taking "a few weeks out of the game" to consider his future and allegedly has his eye on the position in the Sky commentary box vacated by Head Boy Strauss.
Personally I cannot see him coming back; I recall him telling me back in 2009 that he hated every minute of Kent's first ever season in Div Two because he desired to pit his skills against the game's finest bowlers, not it's journeymen trundlers. I'd guess it's only his loyalty to the county of his birth that has kept him going this long through the leanest years in Kent's history.
He's been one of my favourite men in the contemporary game for a long time, with an impish sense of humour and a commendably short-fuse towards the cant and hypocrisy that increasingly characterises cricket's officialdom. He was arguably unlucky not to have played more for England. My reading of his character from knowing him pretty well on a personal level was that he was one of those big temperament players who rose to the occasion and delivered their best on an bigger stage and couldn't quite hide their boredom in a more parochial setting.
Good luck, Rob, whatever the future holds. You have been an adornment to the game for 18 seasons and Kent owes you far more than you owe Kent.
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Post by coverpoint on May 15, 2015 19:40:11 GMT
Stepping away from playing the game for a few weeks, Key is also going to consider giving up the captaincy in the long term with Sam Northeast having taken over the reins in his absence:
“It’s definitely something that I’ll think about. I just have to find a way to get back to being a decent batsman and it’s something I’ll definitely explore.”
“It’s early days yet. I think there’s a whole “hoo-ha” about doing that sort of thing, but at the minute, it’s just a case of trying to get back to scoring some runs, and see where we go from there. That’s my main priority.”
“I just felt as well that my own form was allowing mediocrity. As a captain, you can say “do…” and try and set an example as best you can, but ultimately if you’re not playing well, it says to everyone: “well, he hasn’t got runs, so if I get a 30 or a 40 then I’m alright, and I wasn’t happy.”
“My own form, I felt, was bringing that about, and hopefully now, when your captain leaves himself out, it’s a wake-up call to everyone that we need to start performing better because no-one’s untouchable, really. Hopefully it’s been for the good.”
But he's not contemplating retirement:
As to whether retirement was even an option at the moment, Key is pretty clear:
“No! Although there might be some people that wish I did retire! I love playing cricket – that’s why I’ve ended up doing what I’ve done, because I want to go back to scoring lots and lots of runs.”
“I haven’t lost love for the game, I’ve lost love for struggling with the bat, and everything else that goes with playing. That’s why I want to hopefully just get back. I really look forward to it – just playing and just concentrating on myself for a bit.”
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Post by Deleted on Jun 2, 2015 16:34:40 GMT
Kent CEO Jamis Clifford has announed today that Northeast will captain the side on the field and Key will play under him, but weill remain club captain.
Nothing that comes out of the Kent CEO's mouth should surprise us by now; his pronouncements have an endless capacity to perplex and amaze. But even by his standards this is a strange one.
Can anyone think of any other examples of a county cricket club having different captains for on and off field purposes? Surely if you don't want to do the job on the field any longer, you resign the captaincy. Full stop. You can't just keep it as a ceremonial role!!!
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Post by hhsussex on Jun 2, 2015 16:40:48 GMT
Kent CEO Jamis Clifford has announed today that Northeast will captain the side on the field and Key will play under him, but weill remain club captain. Nothing that comes out of the Kent CEO's mouth should surprise us by now; his pronouncements have an endless capacity to perplex and amaze. But even by his standards this is a strange one. Can anyone think of any other examples of a county cricket club having different captains for on and off field purposes? Surely if you don't want to do the job on the field any longer, you resign the captaincy. Full stop. You can't just keep it as a ceremonial role!!! Wasn't Nasser Hussain Club Captain of Essex while Irani captained them on the field c2003?
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Post by Deleted on Jun 2, 2015 16:51:23 GMT
Kent CEO Jamis Clifford has announed today that Northeast will captain the side on the field and Key will play under him, but weill remain club captain. Nothing that comes out of the Kent CEO's mouth should surprise us by now; his pronouncements have an endless capacity to perplex and amaze. But even by his standards this is a strange one. Can anyone think of any other examples of a county cricket club having different captains for on and off field purposes? Surely if you don't want to do the job on the field any longer, you resign the captaincy. Full stop. You can't just keep it as a ceremonial role!!! Wasn't Nasser Hussain Club Captain of Essex while Irani captained them on the field c2003? Good memory, HH, and you are right. But the difference was that Hussain was at the time captain of England and only played 5 games for Essex all season, so you can understand why he didn't take over on-field captaincy from Irani in games between Tests and disrupt the continuity. I think the explanation of the Kent situation is that the blazers on the committee jealously guard their right to appoint the captain. There is no security of tenure at Kent; the committee votes on the post every Oct/Nov and they will be bristling right now and thinking: 'We didn't make Northeast captain and Rob Key and Jimmy Adams, who took the decsion that he should lead the side on the field, don't have the right to appoint him. That's our prerogative. So as far as we are concerned, Key is still the club captain until we vote otherwise next autumn'.
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Post by flashblade on Jun 2, 2015 16:57:52 GMT
Do the Kent blazers regard Northeast as a young whippersnapper?
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Post by Deleted on Jun 2, 2015 17:26:25 GMT
Do the Kent blazers regard Northeast as a young whippersnapper? Yes, and to be fair I think he has always seen himself a bit like that,too - the golden-headed Peter Pan schoolboy with a prodigious talent,whom everyone indulged and ruffled his blond curls in a patronising way. I remember a couple of seasons ago seeing his mum at Cheltenham during the game v Glos picking bits of fluff off his jumper - and he seemed to accept this as the natural order of the world. Since he assumed the captaincy a month ago, he suddenly seems to have been transformed overnight from boy into man, taking responsibility, scoring big runs and leading the team to five victories (after not winning a single game under Key). he also started smacking the ball harder and further than I've ever seen him hit it before. I didn't see his ton v Somerset but I saw his 95 v Surrey last Friday night and it was phenomenal. In fact, I'd say he has played two of the four best T20 innings seen so far this season - and the other two have been played by Chris Gayle.
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