Darren Stevens claims his explosive start to the season is ‘up there’ with the best of his career.

The all-rounder turns 41 on April 30 and has 268 First Class games under his belt since making his debut almost 20 years ago to the day, however few of them saw Stevens in as devastating form as he showcased at Hove on Monday.

Stevens claimed 5-51 to follow up knocks of 68 and 71 not out to lay the foundations for Kent’s thumping 226-run win at Hove which continued their perfect start to the Specsavers County Championship Division 2 campaign.

It made it 11 wickets in two second innings blitzes for Stevens following his 6-22 turn to seal another big win at home to Gloucestershire eight days earlier. He has 13 scalps this season at an average of 11. He claimed just 37 in all of last season.

His bat has also shone, with 189 runs at an average of 63 in his four knocks so far.

Asked where the start ranked, Stevens claimed: “It’s up there. If I look back on my 10 years or so at Kent we’ve always got off to poor starts, the first few games we have not been quite on it.

“Our preparations this winter, five weeks in Antigua, playing competitive cricket, getting miles in the legs and time out in the middle. Then coming back and having a couple of friendlies and the University game - our prep has been as good as it’s been for a long time.”

Monday was the all-rounder’s 14th First Class five-wicket haul - incredibly all of which have come since his 35th birthday - and he admitted: “One thing I do is bowl straight. At my pace I have to bowl wicket to wicket with straight fields. I got a couple to bounce. I had a little purple patch where I bowled straight, stuck to my guns and it paid off for me.”

Stevens claims the Kent’s successful start is the product of having grown together as a team over recent seasons.

He said: “The last few games last year we were outstanding. We‘ve been together three or four years, the young lads are senior players now and we all know each other’s games inside out. We all know our jobs.”

He also hailed the depth of bowling options available to head coach Matt Walker, adding: “I think it’s the first time at the club since maybe 2005 or 2006 that we have had a lot of seamers waiting to come in.

“You’ve got prob four or five waiting to get in, playing second team cricket, trying to take wickets and fivefers to try and push themselves in.

“We have a real nice mix and it’s a headache for selectors.”