Kent County Cricket Club
Kent County Cricket Club is one of the eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Kent. The club was first founded in 1842 but teams representing the county have played top-class cricket since the early 18th century and the club has always held first-class status. Kent have competed in the County Championship since the official start of the competition in 1890 and have played in every top-level domestic cricket competition in England. The club's limited overs team is called the Kent Spitfires after the Supermarine Spitfire.
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.