Kent batsman Fabian Cowdrey is looking to make the most of his opportunity after breaking into the side in the past few weeks.

The 20 year old son of Chris and grandson of Colin has shown that weight of numbers in the Second XI can lead to a place in the Kent side and has featured in the last three Twenty 20 games.

Cowdrey lit up The Oval on Friday night with his maiden T20 fifty for Kent and has shown all the attributes to be a success for many years to come.

Having given up a place at Cardiff University to pursue a place in the Kent side, Cowdrey feels like he has made the right decision after breaking into the team a little earlier than expected:

“It’s been fantastic and I didn’t think it would come this soon. I guess scoring a few runs in the Second XI it came sooner than I expected.”

“I’m really grateful to be playing in the side.”

Along with Daniel Bell-Drummond and Sam Billings, Cowdrey has shown Kent can adopt a more aggresive approach at the top of the innings in T20 games getting the side off to decent starts in their last three games and the batsman believes it is just a case of relaxing at the wicket and taking each ball as it comes:

“The whole Twenty 20 environment is something where we have spoken about and playing without fear. You have to play with courage and back your shots.”

“Sometimes they’re not going to come off and sometimes they will. When they do you look pretty good and when they don’t you look like a bit of an idiot.”

Cowdrey is also more than useful with a ball in his hand and could find that in years to come he will be utilised in the Kent side as a spinning all-rounder too.

For the time being, Cowdrey has been speaking with friends Joe Root and Johnny Bairstow to get advice on dealing with the pressure of playing at a high level:

“They’re both really good lads and have both showcased their talent over the last couple of years. They’ve told me to play with freedom and express myself.”

“Joe has applied himself better than anyone else at his age and that’s why he is playing for England. He’s a really level headed guy and someone to look up to.”

If the past few weeks have taught Cowdrey anything, reputation counts for little and he will have to work harder than most because of his name, but if he carries on the way he has started, he’ll go a long way in the game.

Kent Spitfires are back in action again on Monday night when they take on Hampshire Royals in their latest T20 game at Canterbury with play scheduled to start at 7:10pm.

Picture supplied by www.sarahansellphotography.com