Player Biography

Kent Cricket is delighted to announce the signing of batsman Jack Leaning from Yorkshire, on a three-year deal, on 1st October.

Usually batting at five in the Specsavers County Championship, Leaning has played 68 career first-class matches to date and currently averages 30.46. His current high score in this format of 123, one of four first-class centuries to date, came against Somerset in 2015.

The 25-year-old Yorkshire academy product also bowls under-rated off-spin, and averages 29.14 with the bat and 31.77 with the ball in List A competition. He has a one-day high score of 131 not out and best bowling figures of 5/22. The Bristol-born right hander has also amassed 875 runs in 48 career T20 appearances so far, averaging 28.22, and with an impressive strike rate of 133.79.

On signing for Kent, Leaning said: “I’m really excited by the prospect. I think it’s at the right stage of my career to have a little bit of a change. It’s a big move lifestyle wise, and that did cross my mind at first. However, since then, all that’s come back to my mind is excitement as opposed to any nerves. For me, that’s one of the reasons I chose Kent. It felt like the right fit for me having spoken to the club. I’m really looking forward to it.”

Director of Cricket Paul Downton said: “We are really pleased that Jack has chosen to join us for the 2020 season and beyond. His talents across all formats of the game show that he is a versatile and intelligent cricketer. Jack will add significant depth to our batting unit as we look to improve our squad in order to climb higher up the Specsavers County Championship table and compete for white ball trophies.”

Jack quickly asserted his authority at the crease in Canterbury, scoring 220* in his second game for the club. Leaning shared an unbeaten 407-run stand with Jordan Cox (238*) as Kent amassed 530-1 against Sussex in the Bob Willis Trophy. This was Kent’s highest ever partnership, and laid the foundations for a victory by an innings and 25-runs.