Kent batsman Fabian Cowdrey is looking to come from within the shadows of his family name and secure himself a career.

The 19 year old son of former Kent and England captain Chris Cowdrey is on the verge of breaking into the first team at Kent after impressive performances in the second eleven and for Sevenoaks Vine.

The former Tonbridge School pupil signed a one year deal with the county in the winter, giving up the opportunity to go to University in Cardiff and was as close as ever at making his Twenty 20 debut when named in the 14 man squad to face the Sussex Sharks at Canterbury on Tuesday night, but in the end the game was abandoned without a ball being bowled.

Cowdrey may well be a name familiar to most people within cricket, but Fabian told KSN that he was disappointed not to have seen a game played in the week and is realistic as to his chances of breaking into the first eleven:

“I’m not sure if I’d have been directly involved in the first eleven, but it’s always frustrating when the weather gets involved with these things.”

“It’s great to be around the lads and hopefully there’s more to come. Obviously I have got to concentrate on performing and hopefully my chance will come because of that.”

“I feel like I’m in good form and if there is an injury or if someone wants to give me an opportunity, then I’m ready to take it. It’s good to know that I’m at that level where I feel like I can do well, so it’s just about being patient and hoping along the line something might happen for me.”

It’s not just his batting that’s keeping him within Jimmy Adams’ thoughts as Cowdrey has been picking up wickets with his slow left arm spin and the nineteen year old is keen to develop that side of his game:

“It’s coming good at the moment and it’s always been an area of my game that I’ve wanted to work on to help me get into sides. Whether I come in as a batsman that bowls a bit and helps me to get selected, that’s what I’ve got to look at.”

“It’s going well at the moment especially in One Day cricket, so if that keeps progressing as well, hopefully I can give myself a bigger case to get selected.”

The cricketing dynasty that is the Cowdreys is something that is hard to look past with father Chris, uncle Graham and grandfather Colin having all played for Kent in the past, but the level headed Fabian is keen to make a name for himself and not live off his predecessors, although his father is someone that he talks to about his game:

“He wouldn’t necessarily talk just about cricket, he realises that being a professional is quite busy anyway and when you are away from the game you want to chill out and do other things, but he’s always been a big part of my game and of my progression, so I owe a lot to him.”

“I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t think about being a Cowdrey and people didn’t bring it up. It’s something that’s there, something I’ve got to acknowledge, but something I’ve also got to try and put away under the carpet as it’s always going to be there and if I acknowledge it too much it might affect my game. I’ve got to forget about it and make a name for myself.”

Away from cricket, like most professionals, Cowdrey is known to play the odd round of golf with Matt Coles and Sam Billings, but told KSN how he limits how much he plays nowadays:

“I like a bit of golf, but that was before the season as I think it affects your cricket technique, so I haven’t played recently and with (Sam) Billings owning his own golf course, there’s a chance for a lot of golf to be played!”

Fabian is once again expected to be named as part of the fourteen man squad as the Kent Spitfires look to get their Twenty 20 campaign off to a decent start when they play the Surrey Lions at Beckenham on Sunday afternoon.