Fabian Cowdrey is delighted to have made his way into the Kent County Championship side, but has admitted it is a “massive step up” for him.

21-year-old third-generation cricketer Fabian has a huge reputation to live up to, as the son of Chris and the grandson of the great Lord Colin.

Having been featuring in limited-overs cricket for Kent for the last couple of seasons, he was awarded his maiden Championship appearance against Glamorgan in June, and maintained his place in the side for the 10-wicket win against Derbyshire at the end of the month.

The Canterbury-born youngster has spoken of his happiness at having been given an opportunity in four-day cricket, but admitted that it was something of a steep learning curve for him.

“It was nice”, he told KSN. “Obviously it’s still early days, but it was nice just to be a part of it.

“It’s a massive step up from Second XI in terms of intensity. As a batter, you receive far less loose balls, so it really tests your mental strength and your patience.

“It was definitely a test of every aspect of my game, but hopefully I can knuckle down and get that score to secure my place in the Championship side”, he added, having registered scores of 9,9 and 14 in his three innings so far.

Cowdrey’s first-team opportunities have been somewhat limited this season, after enjoying something of a breakthrough last year.

He was brought into the T20 side earlier this week in place of his injured captain Rob Key, and responded with a career-best 55 against Surrey in Kent’s defeat at The Oval.

“It’s been a little bit disappointing”, Cowdrey admitted of his lack of first-team games this season, “but I’ve got to make sure that I can take my chances when they come along, and stamp down my place.

“It’s not easy when we’ve got so many talented batsmen in the squad, and it’s a question of if you get the chance, you’ve got to take it. It’s the same for everyone, and hopefully I made a little bit of a mark [against Surrey].”

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