Kent County Cricket Club

Infobox cricket team
county = Kent County Cricket Club


oneday = Kent Spitfires
coach = Graham Ford
captain = Robert Key
overseas = Yasir Arafat
founded = 1806
ground = St Lawrence Ground
capacity = 15,000
fcdebutvs = Sussex
fcdebutyr = 1825
fcdebutvenue = Hove
title1 = Championship
title1wins = 7 ("1 shared")
title2 = Pro40
title2wins = 5
title3 = FP Trophy
title3wins = 2
title4 = Twenty20 Cup
title4wins = 1
website = [http://www.kentccc.com Kent CCC]

Kent County Cricket Club is one of the 18 first class county county cricket clubs which make up the English domestic cricket structure, representing the county of Kent. The club's limited overs team is called the Kent Spitfires. Kit colours are dark blue with grey trim and gold facings. The shirt sponsor is Spitfire Premium Kentish Ale and the team name reflects Kent's RAF Battle of Britain connections.

The club plays most of its home matches at the St Lawrence Ground, Canterbury, but also plays some home matches at The County Cricket Ground, Beckenham, and the Nevill Ground, Tunbridge Wells.

In the 2006 season, Kent finished fifth in Division One of the County Championship while the Spitfires were fifth in the NatWest Pro40 League Division Two.

On 4 August 2007, Kent won the Twenty20 Cup for the first time, defeating co-favourites Sussex in the semi-finals, captain Rob Key hitting 68 not out. In the final they defeated Gloucestershire in a see-saw game where in the final over, chasing 148, they required 13 off the last over, before making it home with 2 balls to spare, Matthew Walker hitting 45 and Darren Stevens hitting 30 not out to see the Spitfires home. Earlier in the final, Ryan McLaren got a hat-trick.

On 27th September 2008, Kent were relegated from the First to the Second Division of the County Championship for the first time.

Honours

* Champion County cref|a

(3) - 1843, 1847, 1849
* County Championship (6) - 1906, 1909, 1910, 1913, 1970, 1978; shared (1) - 1977
* FP Trophy cref|b

(2) - 1967, 1974
* National League cref|c

(5) - 1972, 1973, 1976, 1995, 2001
* Twenty20 Cup (1) - 2007
* Benson and Hedges Cup (3) - 1973, 1976, 1978

econd XI honours

* Second XI Championship (7) - 1961, 1969, 1970, 1976, 2002, 2005, 2006; shared (1) - 1987
* Second XI Trophy (1) - 2002
* Minor Counties Championship (2) - 1951, 1956

Records

Most first-class runs for Kent
Qualification - 20000 runs [http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Records/England/Firstclass/Kent/Batting_Records/Most_Career_Runs.html]

2008 squad

The Kent squad for the 2008 season comprised:

Players with international caps are listed in bold.

Kent Facts and Feats

*George Farmer Bennett of Kent was the first County batsman to be given out by handling the ball. Playing against Sussex at Hove in August 1872 he had not got off the mark when he removed a ball that had lodged in his clothing. Sussex appealed and the umpire was forced to give him out. This unfortunate incident came before the introduction of Law 33 (b) in 1899 which declared such a ball to be 'dead'.

*Left arm spinners Colin Blythe and Frank Woolley bowled unchanged through both innings against Yorkshire on a rain affected pitch at the Mote in Maidstone in 1910. Kent won on their way to a second successive county championship.

*The pavilion at Tunbridge Wells was burned down by Suffragettes in April 1913. Though valuable records were lost the Pavilion was rebuilt in 9 weeks, the funds raised by public subscription.

*Kent ran up 803 for 4 dec against Essex CCC at Brentwood in 1934 with Bill Ashdown scoring 332, Les Ames 202* and Frank Woolley 172. The total took seven hours, with 623 runs alone on the first day.

*Frank Woolley scored over 2,000 runs for Kent in 1935 aged 48. He retired in 1938 with 58,959 runs, 145 centuries, 2066 wickets and 1018 catches to his name.

*Arthur Fagg scored two double centuries in the same match for Kent against Essex CCC at Colchester in 1938.

*Doug Wright, who took over 2000 wickets with his brisk leg breaks and googlies between 1932 and 1957, took his 7th hat trick in 1949, the most ever. He also took 108 wickets for England.

Notes

References

External sources

* [http://www.kentccc.com Official Kent County Cricket Club Website]
* [http://www.kentcricketboard.co.uk Official Website of Kent Cricket Board]

Bibliography

* F S Ashley-Cooper, "Kent Cricket Matches 1719-1880", Gibbs & Sons, 1929
* Rowland Bowen, "Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development", Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1970
* Arthur Haygarth, "Scores & Biographies", volumes 3-11 (1841-1870)", Lillywhite, 1862-79
* The History of Kent County Cricket Club; Dudley Moore. 1988. ISBN: 0-7470-2209-1
* Playfair Cricket Annual
* Wisden Cricketers Almanack