Sam Billings extends Kent contract through to 2022

The England man made his debut for the Canterbury side nine years ago and has since gone on to play 218 games for the county across all three formats

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Kent captain Sam Billings has extended his contract with Kent.

The wicketkeeper has agreed a two-year extension to his current deal, ensuring he remains with the county through to the end of the 2022 season.

The England man made his debut for the Canterbury club nine years ago and has since gone on to play 218 games for the Kent across all three formats.

He has scored 6,408 runs, with ten hundreds and 34 fifties, also taking 260 catches and completing 32 stumpings.

He became the first player to score two centuries in the same game against Yorkshire at Headingley in 2019, sharing a Kent record stand for the sixth wicket of 346 with Darren Stevens in the process.

In 2018, he led Kent back into the top tier of the County Championship for the first time in 11 years, before taking them to a fourth-place finish in Division One, even if he missed much of the season through a shoulder injury picked up in April.

On his contract extension, Billings said: “I’m a Kent man through and through. I’ve been at Kent since I was eight years old, so being at this club means a lot to me; it’s home.

“We’ve made so much progress over the last two years, and it’s great being back in Division One for the first time in over a decade and proving that we have the squad to compete at this level.

^{Billings was part of the England side that won a five-match T20I series against New Zealand}

“As an ambitious player, you always want to be in an environment that constantly pushes you and that you can add to as well. I still have international ambitions, and I feel as though I am in the best place to continue to develop my game.

“With the squad that we are pulling together now, we should be challenging across all formats, we’ve been close in various occasions over the last couple of years.

“It’s a working progress and what we have achieved in such a short period of time has been awesome to see. I’m really excited to hopefully continue the momentum in the same direction and ultimately bring some silverware back to Kent.”

Paul Downton, Kent’s director of cricket, added: “He has been a driving force in our quest to raise standards throughout the club and is now established as an influential leader.

“For the first time in several years, he is not going to the IPL, and therefore has a great opportunity to play the whole Championship season for the county, as well as the Vitality Blast.

“He is completely focused on scoring runs for Kent, as well as reminding the England selectors of his talent.”