Sam Northeast believes the time was right for him to leave Kent after he signed a long-term contract with Hampshire this week.

Northeast had been with Kent since under-10 youth level through to making his first-class debut in 2007 and replaced Rob Key as captain in 2016.

The 28-year-old batsman said he and the club had different ideas of the direction they wanted Kent to go.

He said: “It has been a big part of my life and I will be leaving some good relationships behind but it is an exciting challenge.

“We sat down with people at the club and probably didn’t agree where we went forward - the ambition of the club and where I wanted to go with my career.

“It just didn’t align. It happens and there is no bitterness to Kent, sometimes it’s good to have a new challenge.

“These things aren’t straightforward and it’s never the right timing and how it came to a head. It feels like the right time to move on.”

Northeast was allowed to speak to other clubs after he was replaced as captain by Sam Billings in January.

He did not wish to sign a contract extension and has been allowed to leave despite having a year left on his Kent deal.

A host of Division 1 teams were interested in signing Northeast with Hampshire winning the race for his signature.

Kent have received an undisclosed fee in compensation.

Northeast said: “If I looked back on my career and not played Division 1 cricket, apart from the brief spell when I was 21 and we came straight back down, I would have been disappointed.

“The opportunity to test myself against the best and the highest level in England was a factor. It will be a great opportunity and a challenge and hopefully if you score runs, you can be ready for the next level.”

Since making his first-class debut Northeast has scored more than 8,000 runs at an average of 39.66.

He has also more than 1,000 runs in each of the last three County Championship seasons.

He added: “We have just come up short in a few areas, getting to a few quarter-finals and then not kicking on in the Championship and finishing second that year and not getting promoted.

“The club struggled through a lot of financial times but I remember the run chase with Darren Stevens breaking the world record at the time and some memorable wins along the way. There are so many people to thank.

“We never won the things that we quite wanted to but I will leave with some great memories and the great support from the fans.

“The captaincy has been a challenge at times. Kent doesn’t have all the money in the world but it has a lot of talent and great players.”