Player Biography

Jack Leaning signed for Kent from Yorkshire on 1 October 2019.

He quickly asserted his authority at the crease in Canterbury, scoring 220* in only his second match for the Club and his first at The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence.

He shared an unbeaten 407-run stand with Jordan Cox (238*) as Kent amassed 530-1 against Sussex in 2020’s Bob Willis Trophy. This was Kent’s highest ever partnership for any wicket, and laid the foundations for a victory by an innings and 25-runs.

He became a Vitality Blast champion in his second season as a Kent player, helping the county secure their first trophy in 14 years at Edgbaston on 18 September.

Leaning was also appointed as Kent’s captain ahead of the 2021 Royal London Cup, and signed a three-year contract extension after an impressive 2021 season for Kent, after being named as Men’s Batter of the Year at the 2021 Spitfire Kent Cricket Awards.

He was awarded his Kent cap (no.221) at Lunch during Kent’s County Championship match with Middlesex, one that Kent would go on to win and secure top spot of Division Three.

Leaning took over 2023 captaincy duties in red-ball cricket part way through the season, seeing Kent to Division One survival, as well as captaining a proportion of the Spitfires’ One Day Cup matches that year.

Amassing 38 catches in 38 matches in 2023, including five in one innings against Nottinghamshire in the Championship that sparked a tongue-in-cheek raise of the ball to the crowd, Leaning was named Men’s Fielder of the Year at the 2023 Spitfire Kent Cricket Awards.

In January 2024, Leaning signed a three-season contract extension alongside being appointed as Club Vice Captain, and named as Kent Spitfires’ skipper for the 2024 Metro Bank One Day Cup.