Kent county cricket teams

Kent county cricket teams have been traced back to the 17th century but the county's involvement in cricket goes back much further than that. Kent, jointly with Sussex, is generally accepted as the birthplace of the sport. It is widely believed that cricket was invented by children living on the Weald in Saxon or Norman times.

The first definite mention of cricket in Kent relates to a match at Chevening in around 1611 between teams from the Weald and the Downs. Cricket became established in Kent during the 17th century and the earliest village matches took place before the English Civil War. It is believed that the earliest county teams were formed in the aftermath of the Restoration in 1660.

The first recorded inter-county match took place in 1709 between Kent and Surrey. There were also several East Kent v West Kent matches. Kent held important match status throughout the 18th century, largely due to the Dartford Cricket Club and famous patrons such as Edwin Stead, Sir Horatio Mann and John Frederick Sackville, 3rd Duke of Dorset. Noted Kent players included William Bedle, Robert Colchin, John Frame and Joseph Miller.

In the 1822 MCC versus Kent match at Lord’s, John Willes of Kent opened the bowling and was no-balled for using a roundarm action, a style he had attempted to introduce since 1807. Willes promptly withdrew from the match and refused to play again in any important fixture. His action proved the catalyst for the so-called "roundarm revolution".

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