Kent County Cricket Club today announced that its President for the Millennium Year is to be Lord Cowdrey of Tonbridge.

Colin Cowdrey was first selected for Kent in 1950 as a schoolboy and thereafter played continuously for the County until his retirement in 1976. He captained the side from 1957 until 1971, with Kent winning the Gillette Cup in 1967 and the Championship in 1970. His England career spanned the years 1954 until 1975 during which time he played 114 Test Matches. After his retirement as a player, he undertook a range of administrative roles in the game, including being President of the MCC in 1987 and Chairman of the ICC from 1989 to 1993.

Kent's President for 1999, John Pretlove, said how delighted he was when Colin Cowdrey accepted his invitation:

"Everyone at the Club is thrilled that Colin will be presiding over Kent during the Millennium Year which promises to be a most exciting season. We are launching our Appeal for Youth Cricket in Kent in the New Year and are also staging a One Day International at Canterbury in July. It could not be more appropriate that one of Kent's finest batsmen this century is to be our President in such an important year for the Club."