Kent County Cricket Club in 1906
After dominating county cricket in the early years of Queen Victoria's reign, the players who made up Kent's great side of the 1840s had retired and by the 1850s the county had been reduced to often having to amalgamate with other sides to produce a challenging team. The formation of a County Club in Maidstone in 1859 and the amalgamation of this with the original Kent Cricket Club in 1870 to create the modern Kent County Cricket Club, provided the basis for re-emergence, although the club suffered from financial instability and Lord Harris's view was that Kent could not hope to compete at the level it once had throughout the 1870s and 1880s. When the County Championship was formerly established in 1890 Kent were initially able to finish only in mid table.
Kent County Cricket Club in 2016
In October 2015, Kent Cricket Academy graduate and England Under-19 wicket-keeper Ryan Davies left the club, signing for Somerset in search of more regular first XI cricket. All-rounder Ben Harmison was released in February after four seasons with Kent. On 18 April 2016, former captain Rob Key announced his retirement from playing. Key had spent his entire career with Kent and captained the side for nine years over two spells. He also represented England at international level, and scored a total of 19,419 first-class runs since his debut in 1998.