Kent wicketkeeper Sam Billings is playing down talk of being selected for England this summer and wants to focus on the job in hand.

The 23 year old from Pembury has made a real name for himself in the past twelve months, attracting the attention of the England selectors for his no nonsense approach to batting.

Having taken over the wicketkeeping duties from Ashes winner Geraint Jones at Kent, Billings is now one of the first names on Rob Key’s teamsheet and is now nailed down to start in all formats of the game.

His innovative style has earned him England recognition already, going on tour to South Africa with the England Lions in the winter and he is being tipped to break into the England One-Day and Twenty20 sides this coming summer.

Despite all the interest from within the media, Billings insists he hasn’t given much thought to playing for his country and wants to focus on doing well for Kent:

“It’s been a brilliant winter playing against top quality opposition and playing alongside top quality players, so that has given me an insight in what it’s like to be an international cricketer.”

“It’s nice to be in the mix and people mentioning your name, but at the end of the day I have just got to stick to my process that’s got me there in the first place.”

In recent weeks Billings has been out playing in Abu Dhabi for the MCC alongside Test captain Alastair Cook and the Kent keeper explains how it has been a very useful experience:

“Playing alongside someone who has got 25 Test centuries can only help my game. He has a phenomenal record and is a top bloke.”

“I’ve been told I need to just go out and walk the walk, score the runs to get my name in the frame.”

With the season almost upon us, Billings is hoping this season will be one that sees success come to Kent and with the likes of Joe Denly and Matt Coles back at the club, it could well be one that some of the younger players come good in:

“Ultimately, I want to win some silverware for Kent, because if you have got a successful team, people will take notice.”

“We have got a lot of youth here at Kent, but it’s not time to start turning that potential into results.”

“There’s no substitute for runs and I have just got to start the season well for Kent and go from there.”

Kent begin their season with a three day match against Loughborough MCCU at Canterbury starting on Sunday 12th April with their County Championship opener away to Essex beginning on Sunday 19th April.