ROBERT Key was back in Canterbury this week with plenty to reflect on after his first Ashes tour. However, Kent’s newest England recruit has little time to himself, as he is prepares to join the Academy tour to Sri Lanka in a fortnight’s time.

He put himself through two lengthy indoor breakfast time nets at St Lawrence this week and admitted the trip proved a big learning experience, on and off the field. He said: “In the last three months I have learnt more about cricket than in my entire professional career.

“To get the chance to sit in the Australian dressing room with probably one of the greatest sides, if not the greatest side, of all time made me very lucky. Seeing how they go about things opened my eyes to how unprofessional I am at times, and what you need to do to strive to be at the top.

“Their techniques are very simple, so if something goes wrong, they know they do not have to do too much to get it right.

He added: “The Australians have probably the best opening partnership in world cricket at the moment, and possibly the best number three.

“Damian Martyn is a very good number four, Steve Waugh at five is one of the greatest and toughest players of this era. Martyn Love came in at six and averaged nearly 250 against us, and then at seven they have Adam Gilchrist, who is probably the best wicket-keeper batsman that ever lived.

“They all have an ultimate belief in what they do. They all back themselves and have no fear of failure.”

Having faced them from as close as 22 yards away Key is well qualified to assess the Aussies’ battery of world class bowlers.

He said: “Glenn McGrath is not as quick as I thought he was. He just runs up and never bowls a bad ball. What makes him the best seamer in the world is the fact that he is relentless in his line and length. That’s all he does, really, and it couldn’t be simpler

“They put you under pressure from both ends, and they never give you easy ‘four-balls’ to hit. Brett Lee is quicker than anyone else you face, Jason Gillespie is not as fast as some people in county cricket, and Shane Warne hardly bowls a bad delivery.”

Key agrees his first Test half century was a personal milestone. He said: “Scoring 50 was a nice thing to get off my back, but now I have to step up and go on from here.

“I’m in a bit of a grey area now. I have shown people I can play, and can deal with the standard at Test level, but I struggled with my concentration. People have talked about it and it’s probably true. Even playing for Kent I have got out at times when I should not have.

“To get out to part-time bowlers like Martyn and Steve Waugh, after facing the likes of Lee, McGrath, Warne and Gillespie is criminal really.

“I have to work on that, and also on realising what Test cricket is all about, how special every innings is, because as soon as you start treating it like any other you will lose out.”

Key admitted it was great to be part of the team that won the final test by 225 runs in Sydney and avoided the humiliation of a 5-0 whitewash.

He said: “It was just nice to prove that we could actually play. We were criticised a hell of a lot, but the Aussies were playing some awesome cricket.

“To get a win in the end when Warne was not playing shows, in all honesty, what a massive part he played in their attack. Stuart McGill is a very good bowler, but he’s not as tight.”

Key enjoyed working with coach Duncan Fletcher, and playing under captain Nasser Hussein. He said: “Duncan is a man of few words but when he does say something people tend to listen.

“I cannot do anything but admire Nasser. He led from the front and I think he was the most disappointed in the way the series went. You could see he was really hurting every day.”

Key also admits he had to grow a thick skin to shrug off the abuse hurled at the England players by the Australian crowds.

He said: “It wasn’t witty banter, it was real abuse about you and your family. Even in our first game at Lilac Hill at 11am in the morning, the crowd was abusing the hell out of me, which was a sudden eye-opener.”