KENT batsman Rob Key is remaining phlegmatic about his future Test prospects despite being overlooked for this winter's 14-week, five Test Ashes tour of Australia.

England’s chairman of selectors David Graveney told the 23-year-old right-hander his decision on Tuesday morning, but by then Key had already prepared himself for the worst.

"When Graham Thorpe said he wanted to tour then the writing was on the wall as far as my chances went," said the former England A and Under-19 tourist.

"To stand any real chances of going I had to play in the final Test against India at The Oval as that pitch gave me the best chance of putting a decent score on the board.

"But once Marcus Trescothick, Michael Vaughan and John Crawley all made themselves available I was always going to be up against it.

"Even though I felt I looked all right and was comfortable with the step up into Test cricket, I suppose you’ve got to be honest and say the two 30s I scored at Headingley weren’t really enough to convince the selectors."

But all is not doom and gloom for Key. He has been invited to join the ECB Academy tour of Sri Lanka after Christmas and may yet convince the selectors to give him one of the 20 lucrative 12-month ECB central contracts for 2003.

"I’d been thinking of how I could keep my name in the frame this winter and the offer to join up with the Academy in Sri Lanka is just what I was looking for," said Key.

As for the remainder of his domestic season, Key is intent of making the most of his four potential championship innings against Lancashire and Yorkshire, as well as the remaining two limited overs’ knocks to come against Glamorgan and Yorkshire.

Having passed a thousand runs for the season, he also remains on course to beat his record run-scoring summer of 2001 when he notched 1,281 first-class runs at an average of 45.75.

Kent’s other tour prospect, rookie off-spinner James Tredwell, also missed despite being long-listed for the ECB Academy.

The 20-year-old off-spinner from Folkestone failed to make the final cut to from 20 to 15 despite scoring his maiden championship half-century last week and a match-winning 111 in Tuesday’s 2nd XI final against Hampshire.