Key's last Test matches came during England's tour of South Africa during 2004–05, where he managed to score 152 runs without being consistent, and despite a one-match return during the 2009 ICC World Twenty20, he has remained on the fringes of selection.

[2][3] Key was a regular commentator on Sky Sports' TV coverage of county cricket while still a player at Kent, and after retiring he worked as a pundit and commentator for a variety of media outlets, including GTV and SEN. On 17 April 2022, he was appointed as the managing director of the England men's cricket team, stepping down from all of his media commitments.

[5] Key has often been criticized for his weight, and at one stage early in his career weighed 16 stone before Alec Stewart told him to "buck his ideas up".

In the three Test series, Key made two half-centuries, earning himself a place in the squad for the 1998 Under-19 Cricket World Cup in South Africa.

He continued his good form into 2002, where his run-scoring earned him an invitation to play for the Marylebone Cricket Club against the Sri Lankans.

[20] This included two centuries in the same match against Surrey, during the second of which he shared a county third-wicket record partnership of 323 with Martin van Jaarsveld.

At the end of the season, Key was named the new county captain following the resignation of David Fulton, a role he took on in order to help his chances of regaining a place in the England side.

[22] Nonetheless, he was given the captaincy of the England A team in their fixture against Pakistan, and led Kent to fifth place in the top tier of the County Championship.

[31] He announced his retirement from the game on 18 April 2016, citing his desire to not "hinder younger players [coming through]" and focus on coaching and his role with Sky Sports as a television pundit.

[32] Chairman of selectors David Graveney said Key was selected because of his "outstanding form for Kent after attending the National Academy" over the winter.

[37] After success in domestic cricket and promise shown in his Test appearances previously, Key was selected as part of the squad to play Australia.

Brought back into the side for the second Test for the injured John Crawley,[39] 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.

On a pitch with "exceptional bounce and pace",[41] 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.

Unfortunately for Key, he fell for a duck in the first innings, trapped leg before wicket (lbw) second ball by fast bowler Brett Lee.

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.

[45] 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, but did not cement his place".

[49] Key made his ODI debut against Zimbabwe in the opening match of the tournament; he scored 11 before falling to the left-arm spin of Ray Price.

Key only played one more match in the series; against South Africa he fell for a golden duck taking a "wild swing" at the first ball he received from Makhaya Ntini.

[50] Following England's qualification into the final of the tournament, Key was released from the squad "to have some match-practice in the longer form of the game ahead of the Test series" against South Africa.

The second Test saw Key struggling in the corridor of uncertainty, a characteristic highlighted by Collins, who beat the bat on several occasions before finding the edge to dismiss him.

Initially batting with Michael Vaughan, and then with Andrew Flintoff, Key scored an unbeaten 93 to guide England to their target, which was a record fourth innings total to win an Old Trafford Test.

[59] Returning to the side for the third Test after Butcher had sustained a wrist injury, Key made a duck in the first innings, before "defending resolutely" in accumulating 41 before being stumped charging Nicky Boje.

Key returned single figure scores of one and nine in his two innings in the final Test, being dismissed by Shaun Pollock on both occasions in a rain-affected draw.

[71] He appointed Brendon McCullum as the coach of the Test Team, who instigated a more attacking form of play coined by the media as "Bazball".