The Kent Cricket League is the top level of competition for recreational club cricket in Kent, England.
The league was founded in 1970 and the first season of play was 1971. The twelve founding clubs were Ashford, Aylesford Paper Mills, Dartford, Dover, Folkestone, Gore Court, Gravesend, Holmesdale, The Mote, St Lawrence and Highland Court, Sevenoaks Vine, and Tunbridge Wells.
Beckenham, Blackheath, and Bromley joined the league before the 1973 season. Aylesford Paper Mills left after the 1976 season but were replaced by Forest Hill, and then Bexley joined for the 1978 season. Forest Hill closed down in 1980, but Hayes (Kent) and Midland Bank (now New Beckenham) joined in 1982 to bring the number of clubs in the league up to seventeen.
A major change took place before the 1996 season, when the league absorbed the East Kent Cricket League and the South Thames Cricket League. A new structure with three divisions was introduced, and for the first time there was promotion and relegation.
From 1999 the Kent League was a designated ECB Premier League.List of ECB Premier Leagues From 1999 to 2002, the league experimented with matches played over two days on consecutive Saturdays and was the only ECB Premier League to do this, but it reverted to one day cricket in time for the 2003 season.
Until the 2019 season the Kent League had six divisions each containing ten clubs, and below these six divisions lay the Kent Regional Cricket League. The two leagues amalgamated in time for the 2023 season, when there was a total of thirty divisions.
The 2020 competition was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Kent Cricket League was the only ECB Premier League in England which chose not to organise any kind of replacement competition for the later part of the season when cricket again became possible. Normal service was resumed when a full season of competitive matches was held in 2021.
Champions YearClub+ League Champions1971–1990 1971 Ashford 1972 Sevenoaks Vine 1973 St Lawrence and Highland Court 1974 The Mote 1975 The Mote 1976 Tunbridge Wells 1977 The Mote 1978 Sevenoaks Vine 1979 Holmesdale 1980 The Mote 1981 Dover 1982 Blackheath 1983 Beckenham 1984 Blackheath 1985 Ashford 1986 Dover 1987 Tunbridge Wells 1988 Tunbridge Wells 1989 Folkestone 1990 Gravesend
YearClub+ League Champions1991–2010 1991 Bromley 1992 Bromley 1993 Bromley 1994 St Lawrence and Highland Court 1995 The Mote 1996 Bexley 1997 Sevenoaks Vine 1998 St Lawrence and Highland Court 1999 The Mote 2000 St Lawrence and Highland Court 2001 Folkestone 2002 Bromley 2003 St Lawrence and Highland Court 2004 Bromley 2005 Bromley 2006 Bromley 2007 St Lawrence and Highland Court 2008 Hartley Country Club 2009 Bromley 2010 Bromley
YearClub+ League Champions2011–Present 2011 Hartley Country Club 2012 Hartley Country Club 2013 Hartley Country Club 2014 Sevenoaks Vine 2015 Hartley Country Club 2016 Hartley Country Club 2017 Beckenham 2018 Blackheath 2019 Beckenham 2020 No competition 2021 Bexley 2022 Hayes 2023 Lordswood 2024 Blackheath 2025 Tunbridge Wells 2026 St Lawrence & Highland Court
Premier 1st XI Performance by season from 1999
Key Gold Champions Blue Left league Red Relegated
+ Performance by season, from 1999 Club 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Ashford 5 8 10 Beckenham 5 4 10 5 6 6 3 5 1 8 1 8 10 Beckenham and Sydenham 9 4 6 3 3 Bexley 8 3 7 5 7 5 3 9 5 5 4 7 7 5 5 4 2 7 2 1 3 2 7 3 6 Bickley Park 6 9 2 7 9 4 6 8 8 5 10 6 6 5 9 9 Blackheath 5 4 5 9 6 2 3 4 4 2 5 1 8 6 4 6 1 7 4 Broadstairs 8 10 10 Bromley 2 2 5 1 4 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 2 4 4 7 8 9 10 4 5 Bromley Common 10 Canterbury 9 9 9 10 Dartford 6 9 10 Folkestone 7 4 1 7 6 7 8 10 10 Gore Court 6 5 4 8 6 8 10 Hartley Country Club 1 2 2 1 1 1 3 1 1 9 Hayes 1 5 4 2 2 Holmesdale 10 9 10 10 HSBC 10 Lordswood 6 5 9 6 9 9 3 6 2 2 6 7 4 2 7 7 7 1 6 5 10 Minster 2 7 2 8 9 The Mote 1 7 2 4 10 4 9 Orpington 10 10 St Lawrence and Highland Court 3 1 3 2 1 2 7 2 1 3 7 3 4 3 6 1 Sandwich Town 9 10 8 9 3 5 5 2 8 8 8 9 Sevenoaks Vine 4 6 4 3 2 8 4 6 7 7 6 7 5 3 8 1 2 6 8 4 4 4 6 9 7 Sibton Park 10 9 Tenterden 3 6 9 Tunbridge Wells 9 8 8 9 8 5 8 3 8 7 10 7 8 7 3 3 3 5 3 5 1 3 Whitstable 10 3 3 10 10 8 ReferencesKent Cricket League 1999 HandbookKent Cricket League 2000 HandbookKent Cricket League 2001 HandbookPremier – 2024. Retrieved 31 October 2025.Premier – 2025. Retrieved 31 October 2025.
National Club Championship
Blackheath are the league's most successful club in the National Knockout Cup, winning twice (1971, 2015) against Ealing and Northern respectively, while losing in the final once (1981) to Scarborough. Bromley and Bexley both played in back-to-back finals with Bromley following a 2006 defeat to South Northumberland with a 2007 victory over Kibworth, while Bexley lost a tied game to Cuckney due to losing more wickets in 2023, the year after beating Nantwich by a single run. The only other Kent team to make a final appearance were The Mote who lost to Wolverhampton in 1973.
References
External links Kent Cricket League – Official play-cricket website