The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales and is organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). It became an official title in 1890. The competition consists of eighteen clubs named after,and representing historic counties,seventeen from England and one from Wales.
Kent County Cricket Club is one of the eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Kent. A club representing the county was first founded in 1842 but Kent teams have played top-class cricket since the early 18th century,and the club has always held first-class status. The current Kent County Cricket Club was formed on 6 December 1870 following the merger of two representative teams. Kent have competed in the County Championship since the official start of the competition in 1890 and have played in every top-level domestic cricket competition in England. The club's limited overs team is called the Kent Spitfires after the Supermarine Spitfire.
The 2005 English cricket season was the 106th in which the County Championship had been an official competition. Before it began,a resurgent England cricket team had won four Test series in a row,going unbeaten through the 2004 calendar year. The start of the international season saw England defeat Bangladesh 2–0 in their two-match series,winning both Tests by an innings. This was followed by a tri-nations one-day tournament that also featured Australia. Australia still started the Test series as favourites but most fans expected England to put up a challenge.
The 2006 English cricket season was the 107th in which the County Championship had been an official competition. It included home international series for England against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. England came off a winter with more Test losses than wins,for the first time since 2002-03,but still attained their best series result in India since 1985. The One Day International series against Pakistan and India both ended in losses.
Derek Mark Lane is a former English cricketer. Lane was a right-handed batsman who bowled right-arm fast-medium. He was born in Wakefield,Yorkshire.
Jack Andrew Leaning is an English first-class cricketer. A right-handed batsman and right arm off-spin bowler,Leaning joined Kent County Cricket Club at the end of the 2019 season,having previously played all of his professional cricket for Yorkshire after making his professional debut in 2012.
Harry William Podmore is an English professional cricketer who plays for Glamorgan County Cricket Club. A right-arm medium-fast bowler who bats right-handed,he played youth cricket for Middlesex and made his debut for the county in 2014 before spending time on loan with Glamorgan,Durham and Derbyshire over the next two seasons. He made his first-class cricket debut on 1 May 2016 in the 2016 County Championship and played for Kent between 2018 and 2022;he was awarded his county cap in 2019 and left the county at the end of the 2022 season,moving to Glamorgan.
Oliver Edward Robinson is an English professional cricketer who plays internationally for the England Test cricket team. In domestic cricket,he represents Sussex,having previously played for Yorkshire and Hampshire. He made his Test debut in 2021,and plays as a right-arm medium-pace bowler.
Charles Frederick Hartley,known as Charlie Hartley,is an English former professional cricketer who played for Kent County Cricket Club. He is a right-arm swing bowler who bats right-handed. He made his First-class cricket debut for Kent against Leicestershire in July 2014.
In 2014,Kent County Cricket Club competed in Division Two of the County Championship,Group B of the 50-over Royal London One-Day Cup and the South Group of the NatWest t20 Blast. Kent also hosted a first-class match at the St Lawrence Ground against Loughborough MCCU at the start of the season. It was the third season in charge for head coach Jimmy Adams. The club captain was former England batsmen Rob Key,who resumed the captaincy after James Tredwell had spent one season in the role. Australia bowler Doug Bollinger signed for the club for the 2014 season. Other new additions to the squad included fast bowlers Mitchell Claydon –who had a load spell with Kent in 2013 –from Durham,David Griffiths from Hampshire and former Kent player Robbie Joseph.
In 2013,Kent County Cricket Club competed in Division Two of the County Championship,Group A of the 40-over Yorkshire Bank 40 and the South Group of the Friends Life t20. Kent also hosted a first-class match at the St Lawrence Ground against Cardiff MCCU at the start of the season and a T20 match against the touring New Zealanders in June. It was the second season in charge for head coach Jimmy Adams. The club captain was England spinner James Tredwell,taking over from Rob Key who had been club captain since 2006. Brendan Nash registered as a Kolpak player,ending his West Indies international career,which allowed Kent to sign another overseas player. South African fast bowler Vernon Philander filled this role,although he was only with the club for a short spell in July. Another new addition to the squad was 22-year-old Calum Haggett from Somerset. Shortly before the end of the season,Kent signed two young fast bowlers:Charlie Hartley and Matt Hunn. In addition,Mitchell Claydon joined on loan from Durham on 11 June initially for one month,but this was extended for a second month.
Hugh Robert Bernard is an English former professional cricketer who has played for Kent County Cricket Club. He is a right-arm medium-fast pace bowler and a right-handed batsman. Bernard is a graduate of the Kent Cricket Academy and has featured in Kent's Second XI since 2014 as well as playing club cricket for Folkestone. In June 2015,Bernard signed his first professional contract with Kent. He made his first-class debut on 1 May 2016 against Glamorgan.
Oliver George Robinson is a professional cricketer who plays for Durham County Cricket Club. He plays as either a wicket-keeper or as a specialist batsman and made his debut for Kent in 2017.
Grant Stewart is an Italian-Australian professional cricketer who plays for Kent County Cricket Club. He made his first-class cricket debut for Kent in September 2017 in the club's final County Championship match of the season,having signed his first professional contract at the end of August.
In 2019 Kent County Cricket Club competed in Division One of the County Championship after gaining promotion in the 2018 season,the Royal London One-Day Cup and the 2019 t20 Blast.
Jordan Matthew Cox is an English professional cricketer. He signed his first professional contract with Kent County Cricket Club in October 2018,having joined the county club at age 10,played for them at age-group levels and been a member of the club's academy programme,winning the John Aitken Gray award as the best academy scholar in 2018.
Marcus Kevin O'Riordan is an English professional cricketer who plays for Kent County Cricket Club.
The 2020 Bob Willis Trophy was a first-class cricket tournament held in the 2020 English cricket season,and the inaugural edition of the Bob Willis Trophy. It was separate from the County Championship,which was not held in 2020 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. The eighteen county cricket teams were split into three regional groups of six,with the two group winners with the most points advancing to a final held at Lord's. The maximum number of overs bowled in a day was reduced from 96 to 90,and the team's first innings could be no longer than 120 overs.
In 2020 Kent County Cricket Club were scheduled to compete in Division One of the County Championship,the Royal London One-Day Cup and the 2020 t20 Blast. However,the season was heavily disrupted by the global COVID-19 pandemic,with no county cricket fixtures played until August. For the shortened season,the majority of counties voted on 7 July to play first-class and Twenty20 cricket,with the Royal London One-Day Cup being cancelled. Instead of the County Championship this year,the 18 first-class counties competed for the 2020 Bob Willis Trophy,which consisted of three regional groups of six teams and a final at Lord's.
The 2021 County Championship was the 121st cricket County Championship season in England and Wales. For the first phase of the tournament,the teams were split into three groups of six,with each side playing ten matches. The top two teams from each group progressed into Division One for the second phase of the competition,with the other teams progressing to Divisions Two and Three. The team that finished top of Division One became the county champions;and the top two teams from Division One contested a five-day match at Lord's for the Bob Willis Trophy. On 17 December 2020,the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed all the fixtures for the tournament. After completion of the group stage on 14 July 2021,the ECB confirmed the fixtures for the division stage on 22 July 2021.
