England international spinner Matt Parkinson has already given Kent fans a glimpse of what he can do.

That’s the verdict of Jack Leaning after 26-year-old Parkinson finished his One-Day Cup loan with 17 wickets at an average of 18.47.

It wasn’t enough for Spitfires to qualify for the knockout stages as they lost their grip on the trophy they won impressively at Trent Bridge last September.

But Parkinson made a big impression and could yet return for two of the county’s final red-ball matches next month.

Even though Kent didn’t progress to the knockout stages, the competition allowed them to slowly bring fast bowler Nathan Gilchrist back from injury while teenage all-rounder Jaydn Denly was given first-team exposure with key Kent players at The Hundred.

Leaning said: “It’s nice to get people like Nathan back on the park. Jas Singh again has come on from where he was last year.

“Matt Parkinson, obviously, has been a fantastic signing. I think people are getting a glimpse of how he’s going to fit into our team going forward. The natural wicket-taker that he is, is fantastic.

“With the competition and how it’s situated at the moment, it gave Jaydn and other lads the chance to come in and prove their worth as players.”

Following the conclusion of Spitfires’ 50-over cup campaign, which ended with four wins and four defeats, Parkinson hinted he could be back before the end of the summer.

He said: “This is the happiest I’ve been for a long time on a field with Kent. I can’t wait for the rest of the season.”

Leaning, meanwhile, struck his List A record score with an unbeaten 137 from 127 balls in Kent’s 60-run win over Essex in Canterbury on Sunday.

“I enjoyed it, to be honest,” he said. “I feel an innings like that has been coming for quite a while.

“It’s been quite a frustrating year at times, where I’ve had a lot of starts and a lot of scores where I’ve not gone on.

“So it was really important for me to get stuck in and put in a match-winning performance for the team.”

Spitfires were 218-8 before Leaning dominated an unbeaten partnership with No.10 Singh who finished two not out. Leaning added 59 from 30 balls, with the final two overs producing 40 runs.

“I tried to play quite smartly with Jas towards the back-end, pick up as many twos as I could, and try to keep the strike,” noted Leaning.

“Then, I made sure I targeted the last few overs and, luckily, it came off.”

Leaning also made his mark against the Eagles in the field. He dismissed Ben Beard and Jamal Richards in consecutive balls to finish the 40th over and, after waiting his turn, Leaning saw his hat-trick ball get clubbed over his head for six by Essex wicketkeeper Will Buttleman.

The prospect of a hat-trick didn’t seem to concern Leaning, who completed a fine caught-and-bowled effort to get rid of Richards.

He said: “I wasn’t too bothered, to be honest. I think I’ve only ever been on a hat-trick once before.

“With the way things were going, I was hoping that it might come to fruition but I got whacked for six!”