Sam Billings steps down as Men’s Captain
Thursday 5th October 2023
Kent Cricket can confirm that after six years in the position, Sam Billings has stepped down from the role of Men’s Captain of the Club.
In a heartfelt message to the Club’s Members and supporters in attendance at the 2023 Spitfire Kent Cricket Awards, the 32-year-old announced his intention to focus on improving his game going into the 2024 season and beyond.
The Kent Cricket Academy product & England international was appointed as the Club’s 35th Captain in January 2018, and in his time leading the Men’s side, has overseen winning the Vitality Blast in 2021 as well as promotion to Division one of the County Championship and a One Day Cup Final in his first season as skipper in 2018.
Billings will remain a Kent player until at least the end of the 2025 season after signing a contract extension last Winter.
On stepping down as Captain, 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 Paul Downton for the unwavering support and advice he has offered throughout.
“Alongside Paul 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.
“Thank you to all the Members, staff and most importantly the players for all of the support throughout. I’ll see you all back at The Spitfire Ground in 2024.”
Kent’s Director of Cricket, Simon Cook, said: “Sam has been an outstanding leader in his time as Captain.
“What people haven’t seen is the work that he has put in over the years behind the scenes – constantly pushing for us to improve and raise standards in all aspects of the Club, as well as playing a personal role in attracting players to play for Kent under his leadership.
“He’ll forever be known as our 2021 T20-winning captain, and that is a legacy that he fully deserves.
“I’d like to thank Sam for his service as Captain, and I look forward to working with him in the coming seasons as a Kent cricketer.”
An announcement on a new Men’s Captain will be made in due course.
