Jack Leaning wants Kent to pick up where they left off at the start of the new campaign.

They have been slow starters in recent years but finished fifth in County Championship Division 1 in 2022, despite being dogged by the fear of relegation for much of the season, having won their final two fixtures against Hampshire and Somerset.

But unlike in previous years, skipper Sam Billings will be available to start their season.

And batting all-rounder Leaning reckons Matt Walker’s team could become a force to be reckoned with if they can get their start right.

He said: “We’ve struggled notoriously at the start of the season in previous years but then we’ve always come good under pressure at the end.

“It’s not a case of us not knowing how to do it.

"Hopefully this year, with us having a full contingent of players - including Sam and what’s looking like a really strong bowling line-up with the overseas players we’ve signed - that can ensure we can have a good start.

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“Hopefully, we can take the form we had at the back-end of the year against Hampshire and Somerset. We actually had a very depleted squad and some lads away with England but we prevailed and won two games out of two.

“If we play with that sort of attitude and that sort of togetherness as a team, I see us being a force to be reckoned with.”

There’s plenty of competition in Kent’s batting department but Leaning has become a key player since he joined in 2019.

“It’s good to have a little bit of competition,” he noted.

“It means you can’t rest on your laurels and you have to keep performing, which is always good.

"But the one thing that’s good about us as a group - whether it’s batters or bowlers - is that willingness to do better than the bloke sitting next to you.

“It’s never the case of anyone wishing anyone else to fail so you can get in.

"I think that’s really important in creating a team vibe because it pushes each other to be better every day."

Another area where there is strength-in-depth is with spin bowlers after last season’s impressive form of Hamid Qadri and South African George Linde set to return, while both Joe Denly and Leaning are more than useful with the ball, too.

It could mean Bristol-born Leaning might have significantly less overs to get through - not that he’ll mind too much.

He said: “I’m happy to bowl but I’m also happy to watch those boys roll them out as well!

“It’s just another side of the game that we have plenty of options in.

"Hamid has been in Zimbabwe this winter and improved. He showed last year in the 50-over competition how well he can do if he’s given a run of games.

“He’s only a young lad. I think people forget that sometimes because he made his debut so young. As a spinner, you don’t tend to come into your prime until your late twenties.

“Hamid is improving leaps and bounds every year. Certainly if he gets his chance this year on a pitch that suits, he can clean up for us.”

The 29-year-old once again spent his winter Down Under with Sutherland.

He joked: “It was my fifth time out there - I’m probably almost due a testimonial!

“I got about 500 runs in 10 or 11 games, plenty of good training and some good downtime, as well.

“It’s a brilliant club. There’s lots of good people there and great facilities, hence going back year-on-year to make the most of it.

“It was good fun. I got what I needed out of it and I feel ready to get going at the start of the season now.”

There’s plenty of excitement and interest around this year in particular, with a home Ashes series around the corner.

And Leaning said: “Any summer with an Ashes series in it is an exciting one.

“As a young player growing up, it was the first thing I watched, as soon as it was on the TV. My first memory of thinking ‘I want to be a cricketer’ was during the 2005 series.

“Obviously, we’re lucky to have a couple of lads in the squad that have been in and around it, and Zak Crawley who’s in possession at the moment at the top of the order.

“Hopefully, he has a really big early summer and that gives him the platform to really fulfil his potential in international cricket because he’s certainly got the character and the technique, and he’s got the backing of the staff at England.

“I’d love to see him go and fly. So he can show people - as we see every day - how good he is.

“As a player, naturally, you aspire to play international cricket. But at the moment, it’s a very hard team to get into. We’ll see how the season goes.”

Kent begin their campaign at home to Northamptonshire at Canterbury from Thursday.