Sam Northeast is relishing the chance to captain Kent and lead from the front.

The-25-year-old batsman has been in charge since club captain Rob Key decided to step down from the first-team following a run of poor early season form following the drawn LV= County Championship Division 2 game against Leicestershire at The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence, earlier this month.

The former England man returned to action against Surrey at Beckenham this week but purely as a batsman, leaving Northeast holding the reins.

And Northeast, who made his First Class debut for Kent against Durham at Canterbury in 2007, says he’s happy to continue to do it.

He said: “It’s a great feeling to captain your home county. Of course, it’s a challenge but it’s one I am learning from with each and every day that I am doing it.

“You can never stop learning in this role, or this game, so the responsibilty and the experience I get from it I will hopefully put to good use if I get the chance to do it permanently in the future. I guess only time will tell.

“But at this stage, I am happy with where I am now, enjoying being captain.”

But how has Northeast found it coping with his captaincy duties as well as those of being a top-order batsman?

He said: “I am just sticking to the normal way I bat. If anything, I get more stuck into it (batting) because of the expectation there is for the captain to perform and lead from the front.

“You can’t afford to let any other pressures get into your head.”