Sam Northeast feels his game is in good shape after returning to the Kent first team with a match winning century against Leicestershire last week.

Northeast, 24, was named vice-captain at the beginning of the 2014 season, but has struggled for runs at the top of the order for much of the campaign so far.

After being dropped to the Second XI in an effort to help him regain his form, Northeast responded with scores of 135, 93, 120 and 102, earning himself a recall for the game at Leicester.

Having made only six in the first innings, Northeast stood up superbly in the second on the final day at Grace Road, coming in at five to make an unbeaten 112 from 143 balls in just over two and a half hours; the mainstay in Kent’s impressive chase of 304 as they picked up their third LV= County Championship win of the season.

“Obviously getting the runs in the 2s made me pretty confident coming back in, and knowing that I could definitely do a job”, Northeast admitted to KSN.

“It was nice to be in a bit of form, and to use that form, especially in a win and a run chase like that, chasing 300”, he added. “Hopefully I can continue it for the rest of the season.”

He admitted that he felt his time in the second team had done him good, giving him the opportunity to work on his game out of the spotlight of First Class cricket.

“In some ways, it was quite nice to go back and just work on a few things and get that confidence back”, the Ashford-born batter said.

“In the 2s, I didn’t expect to get two hundreds like that – I just found some form immediately, and then came back in with a bit of confidence and scored the runs. I think my game is in a good place at the moment – it’s just about continuing it.”

Northeast praised the performances of his teammates in their victory at Leicestershire. Mitch Claydon starred with bat and ball, taking 5-77 and hitting a career-best 77 in the first innings, while former-Leicestershire all-rounder Darren Stevens took 5-85 from 33.1 overs in the second dig.

“It was a good win down there. All the way through, it wasn’t really about getting a hundred – it was just about getting the runs and getting the win”, Northeast said.

“I’m really happy, and glad I could contribute to the win.”

“Those were seriously valuable runs when we looked back at it”, Northeast said of Claydon’s first innings score – the best of his professional career. “And he bowled really well. He was definitely man of the match.

“It was a great effort. Even Stevo – he bowled 30-odd overs in the second innings and got a five-for. There were some good individual performances and everyone contributed to a good win.”

 

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