Key was watching Tom Haines, Sussex’s young captain, bat on the opening day of the season, when he made 59 against Nottinghamshire at Hove.
A little over a week later, Key was appointed to his new job and, neatly, Haines compiled a career-best 243 in the highest partnership of the season (351 with Cheteshwar Pujara) to save a game that once seemed doomed against Derbyshire. Haines’s phone ran hot with mates sending him Key’s tweet.
It is easy to see what Key likes about Haines. In a struggling Sussex side, he led the County Championship run-scoring charts last season with 1,176, which was 101 more than any other batter.
He is an organised left-hander who describes his approach as “simple, not overcomplicating things”, the virtues Key espoused in his first two jobs as a player and pundit.
This story is from the April 27, 2022 edition of Evening Standard.
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This story is from the April 27, 2022 edition of Evening Standard.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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