County Championship: Nine Kent players sign contract extensions

Nine members of Kent’s squad have signed contract extensions with the county.

Adam Ball, Daniel Bell-Drummond, Sam Billings, Alex Blake, Charlie Hartley, Matt Hunn, Imran Qayyum, Adam Riley and Darren Stevens have all put pen to paper on new deals.

Academy scholars Ryan Davies and Sam Weller will also join the first-team squad for the first time next season.

Kent chairman of cricket Graham Johnson told the club’s official website: “This year has shown the potential of the team emerging both at an individual and a team level.

“The exciting thing for the future is that there is so much more to come, both in terms of the higher levels each player can attain and the consistency of delivery.

“What we are doing is to grow this potential, based on players who have emerged from our home-grown system, together with others who have come from outside that system but who buy into what we are trying to do.

“That way it is sustainable and will reflect the way we do things at Kent.  It is very encouraging to have all these players wanting to build on this year and commit to Kent.

“With them on board forming the core of our squad going forward and defining our future, Kent supporters should feel enthusiastic about what we can achieve.”