Former England and Kent captain Chris Cowdrey will become Kent Cricket president from 2023.

He will serve as the county’s deputy president next year, with Yvonne Neame in place as club president, before taking on the role.

Cowdrey said: “I’m honoured to have been appointed as the president of my county club for 2023.

“Kent Cricket has deep roots in the local community and it’s been so heartening to see the work that the club has been doing to make a difference on our doorstep through cricket.

“Through my presidency, I will be making sure that this good work continues to thrive alongside the growth in stature of our men’s and women’s performance squads.”

Kent Cricket’s 2022 president Neame is a long-standing supporter of Kent having supported her late husband, Robert, when he served as chairman of Shepherd Neame, High Sheriff of Kent and president of Kent in 2003.

She said: “It will be fantastic to be Kent Cricket’s president next year with Chris serving as deputy president, before I formally hand over my role to him on January 1, 2023.

“Chris’ passion for improving people’s lives through cricket is infectious and I’m sure he will be looking forward to helping enact more positive change in the next two years.”

A prolific all-rounder, 64-year-old Cowdrey’s cricketing career spanned three decades, as he captained the county on 290 occasions between 1982 and 1990 - officially as club captain from 1985 until the turn of the decade.

For Kent, the former right-armer scored more than 12,000 runs and took more than 300 wickets, with 21 centuries to his name while wearing a Kent shirt.

He was awarded Kent men’s cap 157 in 1979, three years after his professional debut as a Kent player against Yorkshire in 1976.

Cowdrey also made nine appearances for England in both red and white-ball cricket, captaining his country once - in a home Test match against West Indies in 1988.

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His father, Colin, and son, Fabian, both also have played for Kent. Fabian's twin, Julius, a former Made in Chelsea star, is also a handy cricketer.

On Twitter, Fabian said: "Great appointment - if I do say so myself!

"Can’t wait to watch the old man get involved again at the club so dear to him and the family."

Since retiring from the game in 1992, Chris has become an ardent supporter of the Lord’s Taverners - a charity helping to provide opportunities for young people with a disability and those living in higher poverty, using the vehicle of cricket.

He was appointed as the charity’s president between 2012 and 2015.

He is now joint-chairman of Lord’s Taverners’ West Kent region, who raised over £25,000 this month to support the work of dedicated volunteers helping to deliver Lord’s Taverners programmes in Kent and beyond.