Colin Cowdrey
Cowdrey was asked to play for Kent Young Amateurs in 1948 and made 157 against Sussex Young Amateurs, 87 against Middlesex Young Amateurs and 79 against Surrey Young Amateurs. He was asked to join the Kent Second XI in 1949 and played Norfolk, Wiltshire and Devon. In 1949–1950 Cowdrey was made the school cricket captain and in 1950 made 126 not out for Public Schools against the Combined Services at Lords. This was followed by being called up for Kent County Cricket Club while still only 17 and he made 15 and 26 on his first-class debut against Derbyshire.
Colin Cowdrey
Cowdrey had other considerations in the summer of 1970, which was Kent County Cricket Club's Centenary. Kent had been 13th in the County Championship in his first year as captain in 1957, but had improved and were runners up in 1967 and 1968. The county has been short of funds throughout the 60s, but agreed to increase resources for extra staff for the 1970 season, which could only be justified by winning the County Championship for the first time since 1913. Apart from their energetic overseas player Asif Iqbal and the Scottish Mike Denness they had home-grown talent in the shape of Alan Knott, Derek Underwood, Bob Woolmer, Brian Luckhurst, and Alan Ealham. At the start of the season Edward Heath, Kent fan and leader of the Conservative Party, gave a speech at their dinner, saying that 1906 had seen Kent win their first County Championship alongside a change of government and they should do so again in 1970.