ROB KEY had a busy 2006 to say the least.

He got married, moved home, became a father for the first time, toured Australia, underwent shoulder surgery and captained Kent in both forms of the game for the first time.

The 27-year-old with 15 Test caps will be hoping for a quieter time off the field this year as he leads the county into his second season as skipper.

Key said: "We've tried to create a staff based on quality rather than quantity this year.

"There's no one at the club now that I wouldn't be happy going into a game of cricket with, last year was very different to that and there were times I had to throw the ball to a couple of our bowlers when I'd have no idea how he would perform.

"Every single player on the staff has a proven record and even the likes of Alex Blake and Sam Northeast have been hugely impressive in pre-season."

Key is fully fit after his prolonged recovery from shoulder surgery last winter and looking forward to improving on a disappointing showing in 2006 where he scored only 731 first-class runs at an average of 31.

He added: "If you know it's going to hurt every time you dive or throw, you're bound to be a bit shy. But I've really enjoyed the fielding in pre-season and the batting seems to be looking after itself, too."

"Everything seems to be ticking over nicely. But one thing's for sure, there are no excuses now."

Key is confident Kent's close-season activity has strengthened his hand.

He said: "I’d like to think Ryan McLaren will prove a massive signing for us. Johannes van der Wath who opens the bowling with him in South Africa, told me the other day he's a fantastic cricketer.

"Then we've signed Yasir Arafat, who had a massive impact on the success Sussex enjoyed last year.

"We're very strong in the bowling department, but Ryan has scored hundreds, Yasir averaged 45 for Sussex last year with the bat, so they also add to our strength in depth in the batting department."