play Australia. Despite playing well in a limited overs match against an ACB Chairman's XI; hitting 68, he was not selected to play in the first Test, instead acting as twelfth man. He ended up fielding to a greater extent than he would have imagined, after Simon Jones ruptured knee ligaments while fielding, and took no further part in the match. Brought back into the side for the second Test for the injured John Crawley, Key made a solitary run in the first innings, batting at number three, before being caught off the bowling of Shane Warne just after the lunch break. Relegated to number five in the second innings, with Mark Butcher and Nasser Hussain batting ahead of him, he again made just one before being caught off Andy Bichel. Key fared better in the third match, played at the WACA Ground in Perth. On a pitch with "exceptional bounce and pace", Key was the only English batsman to keep his wicket intact for a prolonged period, batting passively for 47, the highest score of the innings. He then caught Brett Lee at third man in Australia's only innings, before offering Hussain "stout support" in making 23 second time around. England lost the Test match by an innings and 48 runs, a result that ensured that Australia retained the Ashes. Following a break for the first part of the VB Series of One Day Internationals, England moved to Melbourne for the fourth Test. Unfortunately for Key, he fell for a duck in the first innings, trapped leg before wicket (lbw) second ball by fast bowler Brett Lee. With England following on, Key made a maiden half-century to ensure Australia had to bat again. He eventually fell just after the new ball was taken, caught at second slip for 52. The final Test, played at the Sydney Cricket Ground, saw England attempting to avoid a series whitewash. Key scored three runs in England's first innings, before falling lbw to an innocuous half-volley from Steve Waugh, playing in his last Ashes Test. He scored 14 in his final innings of the tour, before being caught at midwicket, however England had nearly 350 runs on the board by that stage and were on track to complete a consolatory victory. The 2004 edition of the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack recorded that Key had "justified his selection ahead of an older player, like Mark Ramprakash,