Chris Cowdrey stands next to the new tree at Tuesday's ceremony

The tree stood just inside the boundary at the St Lawrence Ground in Canterbury and became a famous landmark.

The new one would have been planted by club president Brian Luckhurst, but he died from cancer on 1 March.

Former Kent and England skipper Chris Cowdrey said the ceremony would go ahead as "Lucky would have wanted it".

He added: "The show must go on... we'll try and make it a celebration rather than a sad occasion."

At the ceremony Mr Cowdrey read a poem called Farewell the St Lawrence Lime which was written by a Kent fan shortly after he heard the news of its demise.

Inevitable

A tree planted by the club in 1999 outside the boundary ropes was simply moved to the site of the old tree.

It had been planted because the club knew that one day the inevitable would come and the original would have to be replaced.

Mr Cowdrey said he had originally hoped the club would raise enough money for a full-sized tree to be planted instead.

The ground opened in 1847, built around the lime tree. When it was hit by a ball, the batting side scored four runs.

The club knew the tree, which stood more than 100ft tall at its peak, was in ill health in the late 1990s and had it pollarded to encourage growth.