Sam Billings steps down as Kent captain to focus on "own game"

The 32-year-old spent six seasons as skipper, overseeing promotion to Division One in 2018 and winning the T20 Blast in 2021

Sam Billings has stepped down as Kent captain.

The 32-year-old, who came through the club's academy, made his Kent debut in 2011 and became captain in 2018, overseeing promotion to Division One in his first season at the helm and lifting the T20 Blast in 2021.

In 2023, Billings was ever-present in the Blast but only featured six times in the County Championship, scoring 92 runs, and stepped down as red-ball captain in June.

Jack Leaning replaced him as Championship skipper while Joe Denly captained Kent in the One-Day Cup.

^{Billings struggled for red-ball form in 2023 [Alex Pantling/Getty Images]}

^{Billings captained Kent to victory in the 2021 T20 Blast [Harry Trump/Getty Images]}

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.

"Alongside Paul [Downton] and 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 One 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 is 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 that individual and continue to drive the team on for further success.

"I'm looking forward to focusing in on my own game, to get back to the levels that I aspire to perform at, more consistently for the team."