County Championship While this was going on, representatives of the eight leading county clubs held a private meeting to discuss the method by which the county championship should in future be decided. The new competition began in the 1890 season and at first involved just the eight leading clubs: Gloucestershire, Kent, Lancashire, Middlesex, Nottinghamshire, Surrey, Sussex and Yorkshire. Subsequently, the championship has been expanded to 18 clubs by the additions at various times of Derbyshire, Durham, Essex, Glamorgan, Hampshire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Somerset, Warwickshire and Worcestershire. It is difficult to know when the concept of a county championship originated. While early matches were
Kent County Cricket Club in 2009 Kent County Cricket Club in 2009 The 2009 season saw Kent County Cricket Club competing in four competitions; the Second Division of the County Championship, the Friends Provident Trophy, the second division of the Pro40 League and the Twenty20 Cup. It was the county's first ever season in the second tier of the County Championship, following their relegation at the end of the 2008 season. Promotion back to the First Division of the County Championship was achieved on 18 September following a draw against Leicestershire. Kent originally announced that their overseas player for 2009 would be Australian fast bowler Stuart