An innings of 143 off 113 balls against Derbyshire at Canterbury was the glittering highlight of a promising 2012 season for batsman-wicketkeeper Sam Billings. That CB40 exhibition, at the age of 21, saw Billings achieve the highest one-day total by a Kent batsman at the St Lawrence Ground and suggested the county had discovered a real gem.

He had also scored a century, for Loughborough MCCU, on his first-class debut, against Northants in 2011, but has had to bide his time for four-day opportunities with Kent. Having been the county's leading run-maker in T20 as well as CB40 in 2012, he went on an ECB scholarship to Australia over the winter of 2012-13, with many people expecting the following season to provide even more chances to shine.

Billings' development stalled somewhat in 2013, however, and he had limited opportunities in four day cricket. Nevertheless, he scored freely in the T20 competition, and his burgeoning expertise behind the stumps gives him a string to his bow that might help out both him and Kent as Geraint Jones approaches senior citizen status.
ESPNcricinfo staff