A DECENT finish to the county championship campaign could ensure the famous cricketing venues of Multan, Faisalabad and Rawalpindi get stamped into the passport of Kent batsman Robert Key this winter.

Though overlooked so far for this summer’s memorable Ashes series, Key refuses to write off his chances of appearing against the Australians and has also set his sights on making the squad for the close-season three-match Test tour of Pakistan.

The England party will leave these shores in early November and Key is keen to make sure his name is on the passenger roster.

He said: "With three hundreds already it’s been a good year with the bat in general, but there have also been quite a few 50s and 70s, so it might have been much better had I converted those starts.

"By most peoples standards 1,000 runs isn’t to be sniffed at but I know that I have to take it up another level to keep myself in the frame with England.

"I am starting to feel a few niggles nowadays, which is something new to me, and this winter my fitness is something I will have to work hard at to put that right.

"I’ve turned the corner now, I’m no longer the young lad who could play three games of cricket a week, go out and enjoy myself and then turn up the next morning feeling fresh."

Key is presently heading the county’s championship averages with 1,127 runs at an average of 59.32, figures he intends to improve upon come the end of September.

With four more championship starts Key has raised the bar to aim for six centuries to help him move much closer to his 2004 record tally of 1,896 first-class runs.

He added: "If I can end up with another couple of big hundreds for Kent and a 1,500 run year then that would be considered a good summer.

"The best thing is that I’m showing myself to be a consistent 1,000-plus runs-a-season player, whereas others have one good year and don’t come back for a while.

"Then if I’m doing my job well for Kent the hope is that I won’t be overlooked by the England selectors."

The Beckenham-born right-hander believes he would be first in line for an England re-call should one of the Test top three suffer a slump in form or injury, in the meantime he has to bide his time on the county circuit.

Though he is enjoying good form and his club cricket, Key concedes he is yearning for Ashes action.

"This is possibly the best Test series there has ever been, it’s certainly the most gripping of my lifetime so there’s nothing that can really make up for me missing out on it."