KENT captain Rob Key was taken aback at being named captain of the Professional Cricketers’ Association’s all-star side for 2007.

Key, in his second season as a county skipper, was selected to lead the association’s ‘dream team’ using the new Hewitt ranking system introduced this summer and named captain at the PCA's annual dinner at the Royal Albert Hall in London on Monday evening.

Key, who scored 1,200 first-class runs and just under 700 in all limited overs’ competitions fro Kent this summer, said: “It was a surprise to be named in the side and as the captain, but it was a nice surprise all the same.

“Awards are all well and good and it’s always nice to be recognised at the end of a hard season, but when the award is being presented by your fellow players then it means just that little bit more.”

PCA/Hewitt team of the year: Robert Key (captain, Kent), Darren Maddy (Warwickshire), Mark Ramprakash (Surrey), David Sales (Northamptonshire), Graeme Hick (Worcestershire), Phil Mustard (wkt, Durham), Graeme Swann (Northamptonshire), Ottis Gibson (Durham), Kabir Ali (Worcestershire), Mushtaq Ahmed (Sussex), Andrew Caddick (Somerset).