Brendan Nash insists Kent can’t afford to look too far ahead in their quest for success on two fronts.

Kent are unbeaten in nine games in all competitions, have won three on the spin in LV= County Championship Division 2 and top their group in the Royal London One-Day Cup.

Nash has been omitted from the last three one-day games due to a side strain sustained in the dramatic tie at Surrey on August 5, but hopes to return for the Championship visit of Hampshire, which begins on Friday.

He said: “We’ve had a bit of a break from the Championship, but we’re in a good place at the moment – in all competitions.

“It’s been a great start to the one-day competition, although it’s quite short and we’re coming towards the end already. The Championship, we started off slowly, maybe didn’t take some opportunities, but we have started flying in that competition and it’s been great.

“I think the run in that has something to do with the one-day form, for sure.”

He added: “You can’t look too far ahead, in terms of quarter-finals in the London or anything like that.

“Winning promotion or trophies is a long way off, but it’s closer than what it was a few games ago.”

The 36-year-old former West Indies Test batsmen admitted leading the pack was a new experience for the majority of his team-mates in the Canterbury dressing room.

He said: “For the first time in a little while we’re at the top of a competition and that’s quite important. It’s one of the challenges we face as a group, how we can maintain it in both competitions. It’s one of the challenges of First Class cricket.”

Nash hit half-centuries in the wins over Leicestershire and Surrey in July, but admitted his performances have been ‘disappointing’ compared to a 2013 season which saw him score five Championship centuries and average over 48.

He said: “I have probably been more consistent this year, but without the big scores that I had last year, when I was a bit more inconsistent. For me personally it’s been a little more disappointing. I want to turn that around when I start playing again.

“Ultimately you’ve got to perform to be selected, I wasn’t performing as well as I or the team would have liked in the first three games – maybe the injury did come at the right time for the team, but I always like to back myself to turn it around and come good again.

“I can only put my hand up for selection. Trouble is there are no 2nd XI games or anything in which I can put my hand up for selection. That’s where it gets tricky. It’s basically how you look in the nets or a hunch that my performances over the years might count for something if I’m brought into the team.”