Skipper Sam’s raring to start

Kent captain Sam Billings can’t wait to focus on longerformat cricket at the start of this summer.

Fresh from a successful spell in the Pakistan Super League, Billings made himself unavailable for the IPL in order to focus on four-day cricket at Kent.

He leads the team in their County Championship opener against Northants at Canterbury from today (Thursday).

“I’m just looking forward to playing some cricket,” said Billings. “Four-day cricket [is great] in terms of that fulfilment. I’m sure we’d all say Test cricket is the most fulfilling format of the game. “That’s the same with fourday cricket. Being with your mates, fighting over four days to get a result, at the end, they’re the victories to savour. I’m looking forward to getting back into it.”

After Kent won the T20 Blast in 2021 and last year’s Royal London One-day Cup, Billings has set his sights on helping the county earn more silverware.

“There’s a very short amount of time in each career where there’s a realistic chance of winning a trophy - whether it’s the County Championship, the T20 Blast or the One-day Cup,” he noted.

“To build on that success is an opportunity that we’ve got to grab. We’ve got to start the season well. Historically, that’s been a stumbling block for us. “Having Zak Crawley available at the start of the year, in terms of the mentality and personality he brings to the group, regardless of what he does on the field, is huge. “I think, collectively, with myself being back and having that consistency of me being captain all the way through, hopefully, that’ll bode well.” On playing in Pakistan with the Lahore Qalandars, 31-yearold Billings added: “In terms of the different challenges it posed, there was the pace bowling element - which is obviously talked about a lot and they just keep producing them consistently, I wish we could do it down here!”