Daniel Bell-Drummond will lead Kent into their first Championship match of 2021 after being appointed the club’s new vice captain.

Kent begin their Championship campaign against Northamptonshire on Thursday, April 8 and will be without captain Sam Billings for the opening months of the county season as he is playing in the Indian Premier League.

Bell-Drummond, 27, replaces Joe Denly in the role of vice captain.

He described the appointment as a “fantastic honour” and added: “I have always worn the Kent shirt with pride and to now make the next step up into a vice-captaincy role is something I am really looking forward to.”

He has stood in as captain on a number of occasions, including eight T20 Blast fixtures last summer, five of which ended in Kent wins.

He joined Kent as a seven year old and a decade later made it into the first team. He is now close to making 300 appearances for the county.

Director of Cricket at Kent, Paul Downton, said: “In all spheres of sport, it’s always heartening to see a homegrown player develop into a leader in the dressing room, which ‘DBD’ has definitely done in his 20-year association with Kent Cricket.

“Whilst Sam Billings remains our club captain, when Daniel has had the opportunity to captain the side in Sam’s absence, he has done so with a calm authority; and this has made him the obvious choice to be promoted to vice captain of the club.

“I’d also like to thank Joe Denly for his time as vice-captain. Joe remains a leader in the dressing room, both on and off the field, and continues to have a huge appetite to score a lot of runs for Kent.”

Billings misses the start of the season after joining IPL side Delhi Capitals, with hopes of cementing his place in the England World Cup squad. The Kent captain will also feature in the new Hundred competition this summer for the Oval Invincibles.

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