Former Kent captain Rob Key has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket with immediate effect. Key, 36, spent his entire career with Kent, making his debut in 1998 and no-one has scored more runs than him at Canterbury.He scored 19,419 first-class runs, with the highlight a brilliant 221 for England against the West Indies at Lords in 2004. He compiled 54 centuries and 74 half-centuries and played 15 Tests, five one-day internationals and one T20 match for England. Key said: By mutual agreement the club and I have come to an agreement after a long and enjoyable career to call it a day. Its time for the younger players to have their chance and it doesnt feel right for me to stand in their way anymore. Key celebrates after reaching his century against the West Indies at Lords I would like to say a massive thank you to all who have supported me throughout my career. It has been a great honour to represent Kent. I dont know what the future holds but I look forward to what the next chapter has in store.Key was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 2005 before being appointed club captain the following year.He was captain of Kent for nine years before stepping down in 2015 - the longest reign since the great Colin Cowdreys 15-year spell in the role from 1957 to 1971. Key (R) and Ryan McLaren (L) celebrate winning the Twenty20 Cup final in 2007 Kent chairman George Kennedy said: Rob has been an outstanding servant of Kent and England throughout his career. He is a club man and selfless captain whose records will stand as testament to his ability with the bat. Perhaps more importantly his leadership and loyalty to Kent in some turbulent times has helped lead the club to a much stronger place. The current crop of exciting talent has learned much from his time at the helm.A Kent side without Rob at the top of the order will look very odd and everyone at the club wishes him all the best for the future.Key admitted that retirement had been on his mind during the early part of 2016, telling Sky Sports News HQ: Ive thought about it for the past two months. When you start thinking about retiring and worrying about the future, its time to stop. England opener Jason Roy runs Rob Key through his warm-up drills and how he plays the pull stroke and straight drive Asked what he would miss playing professional cricket, Key added: Every retired player Ive spoken to says the thing they missed the most was the dressing room.Being in the dressing room, the fun. Ill miss batting but I wont miss the fielding. I feel privileged to have played for England and made my debut with Steve Harmison who became one of my best mates, Andrew Flintoff, as well.It was a good team, with Michael Vaughan as captain, just before they won the Ashes in 2005. So it was a great privilege to play in that era of cricket.Flintoff said: He had a great brain and could have captained England as well. But hell look back on his career and be very proud.Whatever he does next hell be successful and I think retirement will suit him: Not having to do pre-season training, not having to do warm-ups and not having to stand in the field which has bored him endlessly!But he did love batting and thats one thing he will miss. Also See: County ins and outs CC Division One preview CC Division Two preview Pundits county picks Cheap Carlos Zambrano Jersey . Vonn had another scary moment at Saturdays World Cup downhill in Val dIsere, ending up clutching her knee in pain after losing her balance and missing a gate. 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In an interview with La Presse this week, the five-time Stanley Cup champion and three-time NHL scoring leader specifically took aim at wingers Thomas Vanek and Max Pacioretty, saying they cant show up in a 7-4 win over the New York Rangers in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final and come up empty in Game 6.Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - The Grand Slam season will get underway Monday at the Australian Open in Melbourne, where a new champion will be crowned this year. Li Na was the runner-up in 2011 and 13 before she nailed down her first Australian Open title last season by beating pesky Slovak Dominika Cibulkova in the final. But the Chinese star retired toward the end of last season, opening the way for a new Aussie champ in 2015. Who are the favorites to fill the void, you say? Well, lets take a look. You dont have to look much further than five-time Aussie titlist Serena Williams, whos never lost in a final in Oz while holding the Open Era record for titles there. The 18-time Grand Slam winner will be the favorite at the latest Aussie fortnight ... and for good reason. Surprisingly, however, the world No. 1 superstar and reigning U.S. Open champ is seeking her first Aussie title in five years. From 2003 to 2010, the mighty Serena nailed down the five Aussie championships, beating five former No. 1 stars in all of those finals (Venus Williams, Lindsay Davenport, Maria Sharapova, Dinara Safina and Justine Henin, respectively). But she hasnt gotten past the quarters in Melbourne since the 10 championship, including a fourth-round loss a year ago. Sharapova will take a crack at Serena, even though she hasnt beaten her American rival since 2004, or 15 straight meetings. Fifteen straight! The reigning French Open queen captured her lone Aussie title in 2008 and is a two-time runner-up at Melbourne Park, where, like Serena, she exited early in the round of 16 last year. The five-time major titlist from Russia opened her 2015 season last week with a title in Brisbane, where she beat fellow former No. 1 Ana Ivanovic in a sexy final. Simona Halep will be the No. 3 seed in Melbourne, where she reached the quarterfinals a year ago. The quiet Romanian star was last years French Open runner-up to Sharapova and opened her 15 season with a title in China last week. Haleps a Grand Slam title waiting to happen after reaching at least the quarters at three of the four majors in 2014, including a semifinal appearance at Wimbledon. The best left-handed woman on the planet is Petra Kvitova. The world No. 4 star is a two-time Wimbledon champ and currently holds that coveted title. The Czech slugger reached the Aussie semis in 2012, but she has struggled Down Under since, failing to get past the second round, including an opening-round exit there a year ago. As a matter of fact, PK failed to get past the third round at three of the four Slams in 14 (but did manage to sneak out a second Wimby title in four years). The aforementioned Ivanovic is coming off one of her best seasons in several years and opened her latest campaign by reaching the final in Brisbane last week. The former world No. 1 from Serbia is no stranger to success in Melbourne, where she reached the final in 2008 and the quarterfinals a year ago. Having said that, in between the 08 runner-up finish and the trek into the round of eight last year, AI could do no better than the fourth round in the Bourne from 2009-13, or a five-year stretch. Ouch. But I thinks its safe to say shes recovered since then. Still the capable IIvanovic, the French Open champion in 2008 and runner-up in 2007, failed to get past the third round at the final three Slams of 2014, including a second-round flameout at the U.ddddddddddddS. Open. The rest of the Top 10 is rounded out by former Wimbledon runner-up Agnieszka Radwanska; last years Wimbledon runner-up Genie Bouchard; former world No. 1 and two-time U.S. Open finalist Caroline Wozniacki; left-handed German Angelique Kerber; and rising Russian Ekaterina Makarova, who is yet another tough lefty. Radwanska just doesnt have enough power to run the table at a major. Bouchard, like Halep, will probably be a Grand Slam champion sooner rather than later. The young Canadian was the only woman to reach at least the semifinals at three of the four majors last year in only her first full Grand Slam season. The former world No. 1 Wozniacki, like the aforementioned Ivanovic, also has enjoyed a resurgence on tour. The popular Dane reached her second U.S. Open final in six years last year and opened her 2015 season by reaching a final in Auckland just last week. Wozniackis best Aussie showing was a trip into the semis in 2011. Kerber has no shot in Melbourne, while Makarova could make some noise Down Under. Makarova has quietly reached at least the quarters at six of the last 12 majors, including a trip into a U.S. Open semi in September. She was a back-to-back Aussie quarterfinalist in 2012 and 2013 and can make any player uncomfortable on the other side of the net. Venus Williams may not be a threat to win it all at the Aussie anymore, but she did open her 2015 season with a title in Auckland last week, beating Wozniacki in an attractive all-former-world-No. 1 finale. Venus is a seven-time major champ, but hasnt nailed down a big one since the 2008 Wimbledon Championships. She was the 2003 Aussie runner-up to her little sister, but hasnt been much of a factor since in Melbourne, reaching only a pair of quarterfinals over the last 11 years. Id say that ship has sailed. Keep your eye on one of my favorite young players on the tour ... Karolina Pliskova. This big-serving Czech was second on tour to only Serena in aces last year and is a dangerous southpaw for sure. She also had her best-ever showing at the last major event, a third-round berth in New York in September. And how about an unseeded Victoria Azarenka? The former world No. 1 star missed months of action last year while battling left foot and right knee injuries. But when healthy, Vika has been nothing short of a force at the Slams, especially in Oz, where she captured back-to- back titles in 2012 and 2013 and has appeared in at least the quarters there four of the last five years. Azarenka is also a two-time U.S. Open runner-up who has been making deep runs at the majors since 2009. In addition to Serena (and in some way, Venus), another American to keep an eye on could be 30th-ranked Madison Keys. The 19-year-old Illinois native could be one of the breakthrough players were looking for this year, and wouldnt that be nice. Well, whos gonna win it all this year? It would be real easy to pick Serena here, but Im leaning in the Simona Halep direction, if things can break right for the steady Romanian. 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