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.
Private Banks Sports Ground
The ground was established in 1872 and the first recorded match on the ground was in 1874 between Private Banks Cricket Club and MCC. The ground's first first-class cricket match followed in 1875 when Kent County Cricket Club played Sussex in a county match. The county played a further three matches on the ground in 1875, their only home county matches of the season, and the possibility of making the ground the headquarters for the county was discussed, the St Lawrence Ground in Canterbury not being established in this role at this point. When the ground was established former Middlesex cricketer George Hearne was appointed as groundsman. Three of his sons went on to play for Kent and England, with one, George Gibbons Hearne, making his home debut for the county during the 1875 season at the ground.