Kent appoint Daniel Bell-Drummond as their new captain; Sam Billings set to still lead Spitfires in 2024 T20 Blast competition

Kent have named their new captain.

Academy product Daniel Bell-Drummond will skipper the side in County Championship Division 1 from 2024 while wicketkeeper Sam Billings, who has stepped down as club captain, will still lead the team in the T20 Blast competition.

Batsman Bell-Drummond, 30, won five of nine men’s accolades on offer at their end-of-season awards event after a superb summer.

He becomes the first cricketer of Caribbean descent to be appointed Kent men’s club captain, with his parents of Jamaican heritage, but news of his appointment does come as a slight surprise after Jack Leaning - who had expressed an interest in taking on the role - had been red-ball skipper for much of their 2023 campaign.

Bell-Drummond said: “It’s an absolute honour and privilege to be the club captain of Kent Cricket.

“I’ve been a Kent cricketer since I was seven-years-old; I love the club.

“It’s now my job, alongside the rest of the playing squad, to take Kent Cricket forward into a new season as captain and it’s a challenge that I’m looking forward to.

“I’m looking forward to working with (director of cricket) Simon Cook and (head coach) Matt Walker, shaping this team into being competitive on all fronts, but also making sure that this ethos spreads down to our age group squads, with help from our fantastic pathway coaches.

“I’d like to thank Sam Billings for his six years of excellent club captaincy, and, of course, I’ll be working closely with Sam as he remains one of the leaders in the dressing room.

“This is a team sport and everyone will have a role to play.

“To the Kent members and supporters - we’ll both be experiencing good times and I’m sure some tough times, but we will be going through it all together.

“We’ll be looking