This is a list (not necessarily complete) of cricketers who played for Kent to the end of the 1842 season. There had been attempts to form a Kent county club at Coxheath in 1787, and at Town Malling between 1835 and 1841, but both ventures failed. In August 1842, during the annual Canterbury Cricket Week, the Beverley Cricket Club reconstituted itself as a county club. [1] The Beverley team played its first important match against England (i.e., the "rest" of England), at White Hart Field in Bromley, between 25 and 27 August 1842. Subsequently, a second county club was founded at Maidstone in 1859, and the two merged in 1870 to form the present Kent County Cricket Club. [2]
This list includes Kent players who took part in important matches before 25 August 1842. Many of the players appeared for other teams besides Kent, including the East and West Kent teams, and the amateur Gentlemen of Kent team. During the 18th century, team names were uncertain because patrons tended to vary the nomenclature. For example, it is well understood that teams formed by such as Edwin Stead, the Duke of Dorset, or Sir Horatio Mann were essentially Kent, even with given men, and players who were members of those teams are included here. Many of the names are linked to biographical articles.
Where there is no link, the intention is to provide some brief information such as a date, or a team name if not Kent. For example, Samson Baker played for Kent in 1823, and S. Bartram played for Dorset's XI in 1769.