Sam Billings steps down as Kent club captain at the 2023 end-of-season awards night at The Spitfire Ground

Sam Billings has stepped down as Kent club captain.

In a heartfelt message at their 2023 end-of-season awards event on Wednesday evening, the 32-year-old announced his intention to focus on improving his game going into the 2024 season and beyond.

The Academy product and England international was appointed as the club’s 35th captain in January 2018 and, in his time leading the men’s side, he has overseen winning the T20 Blast in 2021, as well as promotion to Division 1 of the County Championship and a One-Day Cup Final in his first season as skipper in 2018.

But the wicketkeeper stepped down as Kent’s red-ball skipper in June after a poor start to the summer and was replaced by Jack Leaning.

Billings said: “It has been an incredible honour to captain this great club. To follow in the footsteps of so many wonderful captains over the years has been truly special.

“Hopefully, I’ve left the club in a better place and taken the cap forward.

“Special thanks must go to [retiring director of cricket] Paul Downton for the unwavering support and advice he has offered throughout.

“Alongside Paul and [head coach] Matt Walker, we set out with three clear aims that we wanted to try and achieve - to produce England players, win trophies and play Division 1 cricket.

“The environment that has been created behind-the-scenes has achieved all three aims consistently, which I’m incredibly proud of. It has been an amazing project to be a part of.

“Finals Day at Edgbaston in 2021, lifting the Vitality Blast trophy, will always go down as one of my personal highlights of my career.

“It’s time for someone else to take the club forward alongside a fresh energy from the new director of cricket Simon Cook. As always, I’ll give everything to support