Head coach Matt Walker believes Kent are heading in a “different direction” with Daniel Bell-Drummond as their new club captain.

Batsman Bell-Drummond was appointed last October to replace wicketkeeper Sam Billings, who resigned from the role at the end of the 2023 season but will still be Spitfires’ T20 Blast skipper.

Jack Leaning took over as Kent’s County Championship captain from Billings after he quit as four-day skipper last June and had been open about his desire to get the captaincy on a permanent basis.

But Kent’s hierarchy gave Bell-Drummond the nod while Leaning, who has penned a new long-term contract this year, has since become vice-captain.

Walker said: “We have been very lucky with the captains that we have had here at Kent and I think it was an opportunity to sort of move in a different direction.

“Deebs has done it before, been at the club for a long time, he’s very well-respected as a player and as a person, and I think it’s the right time for Deebs.

“When he’s done it before, he’s done it really well. He’s a quiet captain, very thoughtful and that sort of style is a change - and we’ll see where it takes us.

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“He’s earned the right if you like with the years of service that he has done for the team.

“That’s a small part of it, really. But he’s tactically very good, has got the respect of the dressing room and the players, and has got a very calm and thoughtful approach.

“Jack did very well as stand-in captain last year. He really enjoyed it and did a really good job in a tough season.

“He will continue to be vice-captain across the board, lead the One-Day Cup side and continue his development. I think we all agreed that we would have been very happy with either of them.

“They’re both great personalities, strong personalities but, as I say, Deebs’ record when he has done it has been a successful one. He wanted to do it.

“He was very keen to have the opportunity to put his name in the hat and we’re very excited to see how that goes.”

Academy product Bell-Drummond, who has spent more than 20 years with Kent, becomes the first club captain of the county from Caribbean descent - his parents having Jamaican heritage.

“He has been at Kent for a long time,” noted Walker.

“There’s lots of things that go into the pot when you decide who’s going to be captain of the club. Just because you have been at the club for a long time, that doesn’t guarantee you will be given the captaincy.

“But, obviously, when you have been at the county since the very start as a young pup, it’s nice to have someone that has had that journey.

“He’s a real Kent lad who knows what it means to play for the county.

“Counties aren’t necessarily full of home-grown players - like they were many years ago - certainly everyone in this dressing room really cares for the county. But I think it’s something very special when it’s your own county and you have come through the ranks.

“To be given the captaincy is a very special thing and I know how proud Deebs is.”

The 30-year-old was included in the 2023 PCA team-of-the-year and won five gongs at Kent’s end-of-season awards at The Spitfire Ground after a record-breaking triple ton at Northamptonshire.

Walker added: “He’s at the right time in his career, having had some struggles on the field a little bit in the last couple of seasons - certainly in the Championship.

“But he really sort of put that to bed last year, had another great T20 season and played brilliantly in Championship cricket. I think he’s very settled with his game now and it’s the right time for him to do it. It’s been a long journey for him.

“Other than opening the batting for England, captaining your county is right up there in terms of what you can achieve in the game.

“It’s a tough job. He will have to learn so much!

“I’m sure he’s learning about it already - although, in the off-season, there’s not quite the stress - but it’s my job to try and get the best of him as a player and protect him as much as you can around the other stuff that goes on with that job.

“But he’s thrown himself right into the middle of it all and he’ll be great.”

Bell-Drummond has skippered Kent sides on 42 occasions already and played a key role in the early stages of their 2021 T20 Blast trophy-winning campaign.

“Deebs captained the majority of those pool games, nearly all of them actually, and that goes under the radar a bit,” reflected Walker.

“So, he’s had some experience in the sharp end of it in the frantic form of T20 and did it very calmly.

“There’s all sorts of captains. A wide range of personalities have been captains of all clubs and countries - there’s not one successful way of doing it.

“But I think Deebs will do things quietly, work it out and do it in his style.

“He’ll have great support from Sam and Jack, and he’ll need that, as well. He cannot take it all on himself.

“He’ll be authentic to himself. He cannot start doing it in a way which he thinks isn’t true to himself and that’s why I think he has been so successful in the past when he’s done it.

“He’s just cracked on, trusted the lads and gained a lot of respect for doing it that way.

“I think Deebs will really look forward to the challenges.

“There’s challenges there, especially in the Championship side of the game, where it’s not easy but he’ll be absolutely fine.”