Rob Key sandpapers ball in practice match

Rob Key got caught tampering with the ball in a practice match. A photographer got a shot of him sandpapering one side. Rob's confessed.

Kent's chief executive, Paul Millman, said the match against Nottinghamshire was no more than 'formalised practice'. It was 15 or 16 a side, some players were batting twice. This was the context of the game. Some of the younger bowlers had been asked to work on their reverse-swing skills and Rob was helping the ball on its way a bit.

Rob said: "What we've tried to do throughout our pre-season nets was to get brand new balls, sandpaper one side, and let the boys practise bowling. It actually goes really well."

So everything's okay. Rob Key is still beyond reproach because this kind of match doesn't count. Plus it gives us an opportunity to use this picture of him, which is probably the best yet. When we think of Rob Key, this is how we imagine him - smiling, with all his features pushed down towards the bottom of his head.