Chris Benjamin arrives at Kent desperate to show he’s more than just a white-ball player.
That’s the verdict of director of cricket Simon Cook, with the 25-year-old batsman joining from Warwickshire on a deal which will run until the end of the 2027 season.
Benjamin had a breakout debut year in 2021, announcing his arrival in the inaugural edition of The Hundred competition. He produced a match-winning innings for Birmingham Phoenix of 24 not out from 15 balls against London Spirit at Edgbaston after only just signing his first professional contract.
He struck 127 on his County Championship debut for Warwickshire and has scored 50 or more on multiple occasions across all three formats, including 50 on List A debut and 60 on his T20 Blast debut.
But Benjamin has only played one County Championship game in each of the past two campaigns and averages 24.50 overall from 14 red-ball matches and 24 innings.
Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, Benjamin holds a British passport and therefore qualifies as a domestic player.
He can also keep wicket and provides red-ball cover behind the stumps for Harry Finch, with Blast skipper Sam Billings now on a T20 Blast-only deal at Kent.
Cook said: “He’s a player that comes to us desperate to play red-ball cricket.
“He has almost been pigeon-holed a little bit as a white-ball player. But he’s really keen to play a lot of red-ball cricket.
“He’s gone to South Africa to play red-ball, long-form, cricket and he’s involved in the SA20 competition, as well, within the Mumbai Indians franchise (at MI Cape Town).
“He has got a huge amount of talent.
“He adds some competition into our batting – both four-day and white-ball – and he’s a back-up keeper.
“We went through last year with no back-up keeper. Finchy did really well and I don’t envisage that changing.
“But it just gives us a bit of peace of mind that, if Finchy does break a finger, we have got someone who could step in and – at least temporarily – take the gloves.”
New head coach Adam Hollioake is due to work in the county’s existing coaching structure, which includes batting consultant Toby Radford, bowling coach Robbie Joseph and second-team coach Mark Dekker.
Cook said: “There’s no changes in the support staff as it stands so we should have the same sort of set-up.”
While Benjamin is expected to be Kent’s sole domestic addition to the squad over the winter, they have tied several players to new contracts.
Teenage all-rounder Jaydn Denly has penned a two-year extension while bowlers Nathan Gilchrist and Matt Quinn, alongside England opening batsman Zak Crawley and Ben Compton, have signed fresh terms.
“It’s been about trying to build that core of a group which are going to see you through the next few years that you can build around,” said Cook. “We know cricket is now pretty fluid.
“With recent stuff around NoCs [No-Objection Certificates] and everything else, there’s going to be some fall-out from that.
“But trying to secure a core group of players is going to be key for us going forwards.”
