Kent comes first for Sam Northeast

It has been an odd season at Kent CCC. They could not make it past the group stages in the competition they were tipped to fare best in, the T20 Blast, but are right in the mix for promotion to Division One in the County Championship, and are preparing for a home quarter-final - against Yorkshire on Thursday - in the Royal London Cup.

Equally, their players continue to reach for higher honours and the area's deep well of talent shows no signs of drying: Sam Billings has been to the IPL and with England, while Daniel Bell-Drummond shone for the Lions.

And yet, there's been a quiet but constant state of turbulence at Canterbury.

On April 18, Kent legend Robert Key returned from India, having taken to broadcasting like a duck to water during the World T20, and decided the hunger to reach 60 first-class centuries had dipped. The 54 he had, a bit of telly and a bucketload of golf would do just fine. His team-mates were shocked, and the beating heart of the dressing room and 18 seasons of experience (nine as captain) were gone, taking a roomful of laughs with it.

Then, on May 23, Kent's high performance director (and former wicketkeeper), Simon Willis, left to take up a similar role with Sri Lanka, under former Kent coach Graham Ford. Willis, as director of Kent's newly-formed academy from 2003, had overseen the development of a charmingly homespun young squad, and six internationals. Off went another lynchpin.

To top things off, on June 27, bowler Matt Coles' behaviour during a trip to Cardiff was investigated by the club. He would not play for a month as he - not for the first time - addressed his relationship with alcohol. Were the first and third events linked? Certainly Key had been Coles' mentor, and the man known for keeping him in check.

At the eye of the storm sits Sam Northeast, Kent's new captain, top run-scorer and full-time busybody. Batsman Joe Denly describes Northeast as "first in the nets, last to leave. Sam's always trying to be better." When arranging this interview, there are three delays. First, because Northeast is in a selection meeting; then he's travelling to Hampshire to watch Kent's second team; finally he's looking at his squad's contract situation for next season. Only James Vince is a younger county captain - Northeast is 26 - but few can be more hands-on.

Such is life at a club like Kent, where the resources are stretched and the staff small. "We don't…" he says, pausing, "have the luxury of millions of backroom staff and scouts and whatever. It's a big effort from a small group of people, we pull together and from the academy, the youth structure, everyone. There can be benefits to this - everyone knows each other, it's a family environment, and that helps. We have to put in a big shift. All of us."

Northeast is as Kentish as Key; it's where he grew up and his name is one that has been whispered since he scored 19 hundreds in a term at Wellesley House prep school aged 13. He played plenty for England Under-19, and his success leading Kent's limited-overs sides last season meant his elevation to the top job, in time, seemed a given.

"I'm learning on the job, just like anyone else. I took a lot from Keysy, both tactically and in work ethic. He was a great mentor, as well as having a pretty serious cricket brain, and all those runs. He pretty much ran Kent cricket for all those years…It's been very different not having him around, for all of us. People look to you for inspiration and leadership because he did that for so long, and maybe we took that for granted. I only noticed when I stepped into the role how much of a big hole was left when he moved on."

What of those tough patches? "It's been an interesting season, certainly," he says, whilst swiftly citing the support of senior players like Denly, Darren Stevens and James Tredwell, plus Billings' itinerant experience. Willis, he says, is a huge loss - not just a vital, visible cog at the club, with his pawprints all over the squad, but a key player in Northeast's own development as a hands-off coach who never imposed himself on his charges.

Denly has been mighty impressed. "He hasn't let the pressure of captaincy bother his batting, and his on-field persona is very calm. He can be a bit fiery when he gets out, but who isn't? He's dealt with distractions well, and he has good people around him with lots of experience, and the powers that be at Kent are in pretty good shape."

Despite their losses, Kent are in pretty good shape. Last year they earned headlines for not being able to afford an overseas player, but this year - one way or another - Tom Latham and Kagiso Rabada were recruited. Denly has signed a new deal and Northeast is confident they will not lose young stars and can, in Willis' absence, with Min Patel at the helm, continue to produce talent.

For the first team, starting against Yorkshire, it is business time. "We go in as underdogs," says Northeast. "The pressure isn't on us, they will have all the internationals which is great. It would be awesome to get a sellout, the club deserves a big day like this, and hopefully we get out on top. We are up there in Division Two because we have been pretty solid all season, but I think we are well suited - especially the bowlers, Treddy, Stevo - to 50-over stuff. But every game is massive now. We're young, so inconsistent, but are learning fast."

Northeast's own form - not least 995 Championship runs, including four massive hundreds (the smallest being 166) - has been a vital factor in Kent's rise. After some mixed seasons opening, he is settled in the middle order, and knows his game: "I have found a spot where I like to bat, especially with the captaincy, after however long in the field, it's quite nice to have that little period where you don't have to strap the pads on. I have a lot of sympathy for Alastair Cook when he does it. That's pretty extraordinary. I look back and can't believe I ever opened. It's mad."

He uses former Kent team-mate Martin van Jaarsveld as inspiration because "he was a guy who just never settled and never stopped trying to improve." Ahead of the 2015 season, he and Willis worked on making him a more adaptable batsman, particularly in the shorter forms, so he did not just hit to cow corner. The results were instant, as only two players scored more T20 Blast runs than him, and his century famously trumped Chris Gayle's as Kent won a thriller in Taunton.

Another run glut, this time against red balls, has flowed lately. "Across my career, I'm a guy who tends to make the most of my form. I've felt great recently, and when you feel a millions dollars it's key to capitalise. Unfortunately I've been stuck in the nervous 190s lately."

Those big centuries have caught the eye, and Northeast is unashamedly ambitious, making no bones about being desperate for England recognition, having - surprisingly - never even made a Lions squad. He is aware, too, that "playing in Division Two naturally does hold you back in people's perceptions, and there is a gap." In the past, particularly in 2013, there were questions about whether he might leave, but he has remained loyal, even as the more eye-catching - but no less effective - talents of Billings and Bell-Drummond have created more headlines.

So is he - as captain of a promising squad, building something (and sometimes holding things together), at his home club, his team - left in a quandary?

"At the moment, I wouldn't leave to further my England case, no," he says. "But can you ever say never? My heart is very much in Kent cricket and wanting to achieve something here. I want to play for England through Kent, and I want to get Kent into Division One and back up there as a force, one of the leading counties in England. It's been an ambition of mine to captain Kent and take the club as far as possible. I'm very lucky."

So, you sense, are Kent.