Jack Leaning revelling in his second life at Kent

SAM DALLING: The record-breaking double centurion swapped Yorkshire for Canterbury but is already feeling right at home amid his new surroundings

• Bob Willis Trophy essentials - All you need to know ahead of round three
• Cox ruled out of Kent clash against Middlesex

Everyone knows the feeling. It’s not tangible. It can’t be bottled up and stowed away for later. It just appears. Something clicks and suddenly nothing else matters. No way of placing a finger on it but everything becomes right in the world. A little bit of je ne sais quoi.

Homeowners feel it stepping inside those four walls for the first time. Lovers get the butterflies shooting through the stomach when the apple of their eye walks into a room. New Kent star Jack Leaning experienced it when he first rocked up at Canterbury. 

“I played at Kent last year and enjoyed the pitch, scored some runs and felt quite at home in Canterbury," he told The Cricketer. “It was one of those decisions that made sense really, and as soon as it popped up, it really appealed to me. 

“I came down and met Matt Walker, Paul Downton and Sam Billings. They took me out for dinner and showed me around. I think it's like buying a house; you walk into somewhere and you get a feel for it straightaway. You can see yourself playing and living there. It resonated with me.”

Leaning turns 27 this year and, prior to making the winter switch, had reached a crossroads in his career.  He had tasted success early at Yorkshire going straight into a formidable side that won back-to-back titles in 2014 and 2015. 

He was no bit-part player either, appearing in 27 out of a possible 32 matches across the two campaigns, flourishing in the second season during which he racked up nigh on 1000 first-class runs. The future was rosy. 

Sometimes in life, things don’t pan out the way you plan and for the past few years, he’s found himself flitting in and out of first XI for the past few years. Fearful of stagnating the right-hander had the self-awareness to walk away from his boyhood club in search of a new challenge.  

“If I'm being honest, I wasn't quite getting the most out myself and maybe got a little bit comfortable in my routines with Yorkshire,” he explained.

“I wanted a fresh start and a real change. In my own head, if I was going to do that, I wanted to change everything; where I live, my lifestyle, and take on a challenge somewhere completely different.

“I hadn’t officially been offered anything by Yorkshire so there was nothing certain, but I wanted to take things into my own hands. It felt like the right option at the time for me.

^{Jack Leaning was imperious at the crease}

 “At the start it was quite daunting because you're never quite sure if going to be the right move but sometimes a little bit of you in life sometimes wonders if the grass is greener elsewhere.”

They say you’re only as good as your last game. Whoever “they” may be Leaning would no doubt enthusiastically agree. He made headlines this week when, in only his second outing for his new club, he and teenage sensation Jordan Cox set a Kent record for the highest first-class record stand. 

The pair both passed the 200 mark as they put on an unbroken 423 for the second wicket, leaving skipper Sam Billings sat with his pads on for 95 overs.  

Not a bad way to get up and running having been forced to wait almost a year between signing on the dotted line and stepping out on the field for his new county for the county. Rather than focusing on his own milestone, Leaning was full of praise for his fearless partner in crime.

“He's a serious talent," Leaning gleamed. "He's one of those young players who can do anything, and he's got no fear. 

“That’s probably the biggest thing; he thoroughly believes when he walks out there that he's one of the best players on the pitch and he can score runs against anybody. It’s such a good mindset to have as a young player.”

Asked whether the rumours that Cox had spent the morning of their record stand explain to his teammates how he’d be passing their career bests, confirmed that’s exactly what happened. 

Laughing, he said: “He spent a bit of his evening the night before looking at all the lads in the dressing room’s high scores. When we were batting, he was saying 'I’ve ticked that one off, I've ticked that one off, now I'll go for the next one'. It just shows the innocence of youth and how confident he is in his own ability which is such a great trait to have as a young lad.”

Spare a thought for the Sussex bowling attack who were forced to toil away in the searing heat for 120 overs. Their reward? A solitary Kent wicket. Mercifully their torment was cut short by the mandatory first innings cut off point introduced to manage bowler workloads in the Bob Willis Trophy.

^{Cox and Leaning put on a record-breaking stand}

Although the timeless Darren Stevens showed there was something in it for the bowlers when he got hold of the ball -  his 5-50 helping fast track Kent’s innings and 25 run victory – two rounds into the competition and it looks set to be a batsman’s summer.

Sixteen triple-figure scores have been notched up already and Leaning attributes this to the practically perfect pre-season that top-order men were able to enjoy. 

“We were split into different pods and then we had our own individual time where we had our own net, our own coaches, our own balls,” he explained. We got so much individual time with coaches it was probably the best kind of pre-season I could wish for as a batter. 

“You’d have three coaches including a batting coach there to help you out with your individual skills. I've been able to hit thousands of balls to get ready for a season in the space of three weeks, whereas the bowler can only bowl four or five overs to start with and then build up their workload. It was so much easier for a batter to prepare for a season like this because there's workload restrictions or anything imposed on us.”

Leaning has joined a Kent side on the up. 2019 was their first season in the top tier of domestic cricket for nearly a decade.

Far from embarrassing themselves, the Canterbury outfit finished comfortably mid-table; ahead of so-called more illustrious opponents Surrey, Warwickshire, Nottinghamshire, and of course the right-hander’s former employers. 

While there was disappointed at their uncharacteristically poor white ball showing – they narrowly missed out on qualifying for the Blast quarterfinals and never got going in the 50 overs stuff - few would bet against them bouncing back stronger. 

A sign of the county’s strength can often be measured by the number of international call-ups and Kent have had plenty of those recently.  The experienced Joe Denly appeared in England’s series triumph over the West Indies, Sam Billings participated in the one-day international clashes with Ireland and Zak Crawley is in test action against Pakistan this week. 

Throw the likes of Ollie Robinson, Daniel Bell-Drummond, and Stevens into a harmonious dressing room and it’s easy to see why Leaning believes a trophy or two isn’t far around the corner. 

An all-time Kent partnership record for Jack Leaning (208*) and Jordan Cox (223*).

At lunch - with a maximum of five overs to go in their first innings, the pair have put on 396 for the second wicket...

Kent are 503-1#BobWillisTrophy

SCORECARD ▶️ https://t.co/4i6IrosOVK

— The Cricketer (@TheCricketerMag) August 10, 2020

“It's a seriously good side, and I think it's a really good mix of young lads, who were ready to perform and senior lads, who know the game a lot more and have a bit more experience. There are no massive egos everyone's really willing each other to do well and are more than happy to help each other try and achieve their goals.

“When you get an environment like that, it becomes really easy for a lot of people to thrive at once because people feel comfortable. People know that they're backed by their teammates, and they're all fighting for the same thing which makes a massive difference. This feels like a club that's going in the right direction and I don't think silverware is very far away."

Next up for Kent is home game clash with Middlesex. While Leaning will be looking to add to his run tally Cox will have to wait another week before he can spend more time in the middle. 

The youngster is in a mandatory period of self-isolation after breaching social distancing regulations by posing for a fan photo outside of the ground. It will be a difficult one to swallow for the 19-year-old who was just trying to do the right thing and Leaning admits he feels for his teammate. 

“It'll be a shame with everything that's happened that he can't back it up this weekend, but I feel for him," said Leaning. "It's a bit of a tricky one.  

“It's just the time that we're living in; there are a lot of different rules and he was probably still on cloud nine. 

“I must admit if a young lad had come up to me in the street, it certainly wouldn't have been my first thought that I can’t have a photo with him. 

“It's one of the things that it will, it will get obviously regret what's happened, but he won't be too fazed by it. He’ll come back and score even more runs I would imagine!”

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