Key prepares to stake his claim

One man's misfortune is another man's fortune, as Robert Key will readily attest. Ever since he stood in for the injured Marcus Trescothick against India in 2002, Key has been waiting in the wings as England's first reserve, and has notched up 13 Tests in a stop-start career. But now, following the unfortunate wrist injury that has forced Mark Butcher to fly home early, Key believes the time has come for him to cement a permanent place in the Test team.

"That's been the story of my Test career so far," admitted Key during a break from England's nets session at the Wanderers in Johannesburg. "Every time bar none I've got in the side, it's been through someone else's injury. But now's the time to take my chance. There should be two decent wickets [at Jo'burg and Centurion], so I need to get some proper runs, not just a 40 here or a 60 there, and then we'll see how it goes."

Ironically, the only thing that seems likely to stop Key from retaining his slot at No. 3 is another injury - this time to Andrew Flintoff, whose torn rib muscle will undergo another scan on Wednesday morning. Flintoff may yet play as a specialist batsman only, which would badly unsettle the balance of the side, and would necessitate the inclusion of an extra bowler, either James Anderson or, conceivably, Paul Collingwood.

For Key to miss out in that manner would be a cruel blow. He looked to have cracked Test cricket against West Indies last summer, when he made 221 at Lord's on his return to the side, followed by a matchwinning 93 not out at Old Trafford. But he was then omitted for the start of South Africa series to allow Butcher to reclaim the place he had forfeited through injury. "I had a good time of it last year," Key admitted. "To make that one big score takes a massive weight off your back, and I felt more at home in the Test arena.

"I never felt hard done by," he added. "It was disappointing, but I could see the other angle. It's not all black and white - I should play or I shouldn't play. It was a big decision, and if I was a selector, I wouldn't have wanted to have to make it. I didn't begrudge the decision, but I was gutted. Sitting around watching others play is not the most enjoyable thing."

Consequently, when Butcher's wrist injury flared up on the morning of the Cape Town Test, Key's last-minute return to the side was his first first-class outing since September. Understandably enough, he scored a duck in England's first-innings collapse, but second-time around he showed glimpses of Test form with a battling 41, which was England's top score until the No. 11 Steve Harmison took the long handle to the bowlers, when there was nothing but pride to play for.

"I couldn't tell you much about that [first] innings, to be honest," said Key. "I didn't feel too bad with the bat, but it's hard to recreate that Test experience. I came in after tea, there was an air of expectancy from South Africa's fans, and the ground was pumping. It was all happening so quickly and that did for me a bit. Ideally, I'd have liked to slow things down and get in for a couple of overs, and then it would have flowed back."

He didn't have to wait too long to make amends, however, as Trescothick was dismissed in Shaun Pollock's opening over of the second innings. "Second-time around I felt I had a better tempo," said Key. "I'd literally just put my pads on and I was out there batting, but being an opener, the new ball's not something that worries me. It was unfortunate for the team, but for me it was better to get in than sit around wondering what's going to happen."

The eventual mode of Key's dismissal was a big disappointment, however, as he gave Nicky Boje the charge and was stumped by a distance. "That hit me quite hard," he admitted. "I was feeling in decent touch again, and I was starting to enjoy batting again, which was probably part of the problem. He wasn't really turning it, so if it had been a county game, I'd have been charging every other ball. But I was caught in two minds by the pressure situation of the game. In the end, it looked terrible and I got slated for it."

Key is not averse to the odd careless dismissal when well set, however. In Australia two winters ago, he was removed by the medium pace of both Damien Martyn and Steve Waugh, and with the current pressure for places in England's middle-order, he accepts that the errors will have to be cut out. "There are quite a few spots going to come up in the next couple of years," he said, "and a lot of guys will put in a claim. So it is crucial to take your chance when it comes."