Having given just under 40 years of service to Kent Cricket, the Club’s Committee has appointed Richard Collins as an Honorary Vice President following his decision to retire from his roles as Vice Chairman and a member of the General Committee.

Richard first joined the Club in 1982 as the Club’s Honorary Medical Officer, overseeing the physical welfare of sides that included the Sunday League winners of 1995 and 2001, before retiring from that role in 2009.

In 1998, he was elected a member of the General Committee and chaired an appeal for youth cricket in 2001, which raised over £100,000.

He was President in 2005/06, before becoming Vice Chairman in 2013. During that period, he led the Woolley Stand Appeal.

Kent Cricket’s Chairman, Simon Philip, said: “Richard’s long period of unbroken service to the Club has been outstanding.

“He has devoted a substantial amount of his life to Kent Cricket in voluntary roles and been a source of wise counsel to players, staff, chairmen and the Committee for nearly four decades.

“I have been particularly grateful for his good humour, sound advice and memory of long past events, which was very helpful in navigating similar, more recent situations.

“Becoming a Vice President is testimony to the high esteem in which he is held within the Club”.

Following Richard’s retirement, the Committee has appointed Jeremy Cowdrey as the Club’s new Vice Chairman.

A former stockbroker with James Capel and then Cazenove & Co., Jeremy is a Life Member of the Club and spent his childhood on Kent grounds watching his father, Colin Cowdrey. Jeremy was elected to the Committee in 2018.

In 2020, Jeremy led the planning of Kent Cricket’s 150^th Year Thanksgiving Service at Canterbury Cathedral and he continues to play an instrumental role in all Committee matters.

On Jeremy’s appointment as Vice Chairman, Chairman Simon Philip added: “Jeremy has made a made a considerable impact in his three years on the Committee.

“He follows his grandfather, Stuart Chiesman, in becoming an Officer of the Club and contributing significantly off the field. The Committee and I look forward to working with him, as we all try to drive the Club forward.”