Wicketkeeper-batsman Harry Finch has more reason than most to be excited by Chris Benjamin’s Kent arrival.

Benjamin has been the sole domestic signing made by the county ahead of the new season, joining on a three-year deal from Warwickshire.

Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, Benjamin holds a British passport and therefore qualifies as a domestic player.

The 25-year-old can also keep wicket and provides red-ball cover behind the stumps for Finch, with Blast skipper Sam Billings now on a T20 Blast-only deal.

And Finch is excited to have a fellow wicketkeeper-batsman in the first-team ranks alongside him throughout the majority of the campaign, as opposed to solely working with a coach at practice.

Talking at Kent’s media day earlier this month, Finch said: “I’ve not seen him bat yet.

“But I’ve done some keeping with him and it’s just brilliant to have someone else to work with.

“I don’t actually know a huge amount about his career and stuff - but he’s fitted in brilliantly.

“He’s a great lad, a keen golfer and we have done two or three keeping sessions already.

“Straight away the difference of doing work with someone, rather than it just being me and a coach the whole time, that’s such a better feeling. We’re bouncing ideas off each other and it’s much more fun.

“There’s so much more you can do when there’s two players and a coach rather than it being one-on-one the whole time.

“He’s a brilliant white-ball player and I think he’ll be a brilliant red-ball player, as well.

“He’s probably someone that hasn’t had that opportunity his talent warrants - he sounds like he was brilliant at Warwickshire but, for whatever reason, he hasn’t played as much recently there - so it’s a great recruit for us.

“He offers something to us in the middle order in white ball and it’s up to the rest of us to step up in that middle order in the T20s, as well, and try using it as fuel for everyone to compete to get into the team.

“He’s been good and I think he’s really enjoying it.”

Finch has no qualms with the added competition for the position between the stumps.

He said: “If I got injured or even for creating competition for places, it just drives standards.

“That’ll help bring the best out of me, but I’m not the only one. That’ll help bring the best out of everyone.

“If there’s someone you’re competing with or who you can bounce ideas off, that’s only going to make you better. Touch wood, my injury record has been pretty good.

“But the one-to-one dynamic with a coach, it’s great because you get a lot of volume but, sometimes, it’s great to work with another player.

“So, it’ll be different this year and so much better for me from a selfish point of view and for Benji, I’d imagine, as well.

“We’re both excited and chatting keeping all the time, which is great.

“We’re the two weirdos in the dressing room!”

Finch himself only has taken up keeping in recent years but seems to have gone from strength-to-strength in that role.

“I thrust it upon myself,” he said. “I just saw it as another opportunity to, potentially, add another string to my bow and get signed.

“When I first got signed, I was the third-choice keeper and going to keep in the 50-over stuff. Very quickly it went from that to ‘Jesus, I’m the first-choice keeper now!’.

“I’ll be honest, when that happened, I was well out of my depth. I kind of got away with it a little bit because I kept all right in those games.

“But I certainly knew that I needed to make some big moves here. Basically, I’ve picked up a new skill in the past two years.

“It’s been great and I’m so glad that I did it.”

Kent started their final pre-season match with Loughborough UCCE at Canterbury’s Spitfire Ground on Sunday.

Opening bowler Nathan Gilchrist (2-57), all-rounder Joey Evison (2-57) and spinner Matt Parkinson (2-98) all claimed two wickets apiece, but the hosts spent the bulk of the first day toiling in the field, with the visitors declaring on 364-8.

In response, Kent were 34-2 by the close.