Departing Kent all-rounder Darren Stevens vows to keep giving his all as he aims to bring 17-year stay to an end on a high

Darren Stevens is vowing to keep giving his all for Kent as he aims to bring his 17-year spell with the club to an end on a high.

All-rounder Stevens will return to his old stomping ground tomorrow when the Spitfires visit Leicestershire for their Royal London One-Day Cup quarter-final.

It comes after Kent won back-to-back encounters at The Spitfire Ground in Canterbury against Yorkshire and Lancashire in tense fashion to edge into the knock-out stages, finishing third in their group.

Stevens will leave Kent at the end of this season but he isn’t ready to hang up his boots yet at the age of 46 and, in the meantime, he’s focused on still delivering for Kent.

“My job is to get runs, take wickets and win games for Kent,” he said.

“So that’s what I’ll do until I finish.”

The Spitfires were knocked out in the group stages as they failed to defend their T20 Blast title.

But in the 50-over format, Kent have won three of their last four matches, with the other encounter being abandoned without a ball being bowled.

All-rounder Grant Stewart hit a last-ball six to give the Spitfires a three-wicket win over Yorkshire last Friday before they won in the last over again against Lancashire on Tuesday at the same venue, Harry Podmore crashing the penultimate ball to the ropes to seal the win.

After a poor start against Lancashire, Stevens shared a 105-run partnership with Alex Blake (81) as Kent recovered from 53-4 to win, chasing down 296 for victory.

Stevens said: “Everybody knows that momentum is key, isn’t it?

“There is a nice buzz around the changing room now and, hopefully, we can take that on to Leicestershire, on to the semi and on to the final, which will give the boys a lot of confidence for the last three County Championship