Most players struggle to continue their life after they retire from the game but not Rob Key.
The ex-cricketer seems to be adapting fine, and he says he relishes retirement.For most former players, concerns when they near retirement range from making money to pay bills, finding new roles in the society, and living with their legacies, if they have any. Rob Key took to sports commentary – like many sports people generally – after he retired from his 18-year career.
Key said he does not regret leaving last April as his current role gives him the feel of the dressing room and all the perks without the hard work of playing.
“I haven’t missed it at all actually. In fact, I wonder how I did it for so long! I’ve been very, very lucky that I’ve been able to go and work for Sky and at the minute it seems a better job than playing. It’s like cricket without the fielding! You get to watch cricket and you get that dressing room environment at Sky anyway,” he said.
He added that he knew retirement was imminent so instead of delaying he decided to take the plunge. Since retiring, he has done several things that keep him happy like charity work and playing golf.
“Golf has completely taken over that side of my brain. I used to love working on my batting – even at the end I would spend the winter trying to work out how to become a better player – but now I’ve swapped that for golf, which I think is why I haven’t thought about batting,” he explained.
Whilst in action for the English Whites, he was decent in the 2002/03 tour though he did not make the figures. He won the match at Old Trafford in in 2004 with an unbeaten 93 against West Indies. He hit 83 in the Johannesburg win in 2005 but he was soon dropped. He never played Test cricket from then.
On the club level, he was better at Kent. He averaged 69 in the 2004 and 2005 seasons. He was the captain from 2006 until 2012, where he club navigate through different ugly situations
