Sam Billings extends Kent contract

England one-day wicketkeeper-batsman Sam Billings has signed a contract extension with Kent.

The 24-year-old Kent Cricket Academy graduate made his international breakthrough in 2015 after impressing for Kent Spitfires and England Lions in white-ball cricket.

Billings, who is currently playing for England Lions in Dubai, said: "I'm happy to have agreed a new contract.

"The club is heading in the right direction and I hope to help bring some silverware to Canterbury."

After winning the Spitfire Player of the Year in 2014, he scored his maiden County Championship century for Kent in 2015 before being awarded his county cap at Canterbury Cricket Week.

From 2016, Sam Billings will wear the number 7 shirt for Kent as he does for England.

Chief executive Jamie Clifford said: “We’re delighted that Sam has committed his future to the club.

“It is pleasing that we now have a solid core of players on longer term contracts and I think it points to an exciting future.

"With players vying for international honours, it is a competitive environment and one that is hungry for success.

“I know that our supporters have enjoyed watching Sam’s career develop and it will be exciting to see just how far he and others can go.”

He is set to play in the Pakistan Super League with Islamabad United and flying to South Africa to join the senior England squad in the build-up to the ICC World T20 in Bangladesh taking place in March.