Kent County Cricket Club
As the team built around Pilch retired from cricket the fortunes of the club declined, the county sometimes forced to field teams of up to 16 or to combine with other clubs in order to compete. Financial difficulties followed and on 1 March 1859 a second county club was formed in Maidstone to support the Canterbury-based club. The two clubs, the Canterbury club known as East Kent, the Maidstone club as West Kent, co-operated to an extent, although the relationship was later described as "anything but satisfactory". The standard of cricket played by the county side, generally organised by the West Kent club, remained poor and the county found it difficult to attract either the best amateur players or professionals to appear, many amateurs only willing to appear during Canterbury Cricket Week. Financial difficulties also caused problems producing competitive sides. An 1870 meeting chaired by the 3rd Lord Harris at the Bull Inn at Rochester saw the two clubs merge to form the present day Kent County Cricket Club.
List of Sussex cricket captains
Sussex has been a prominent cricket county since the 17th century and teams representing the county have generally been regarded as important or first-class. The earliest known move towards a permanent county organisation happened 17 June 1836 when a meeting in Brighton established a Sussex Cricket Fund to support county matches. It was from this organisation that Sussex County Cricket Club was formally constituted on 1 March 1839. The club played its initial first-class match against Marylebone Cricket Club at Lord's on 10 & 11 June 1839. Sussex CCC is England's oldest county club, one of eighteen that play in the County Championship at first-class level. The player appointed club captain leads the team in all fixtures, except if unavailable, and the following have held the post since formation of the county club in 1839.Seven Sussex-born players have captained the club as follows: