KENT'S chairman of cricket Graham Johnson has taken the first steps toward appointing a new club captain – but the club warns supporters that the process will be a thorough one and not necessarily speedy.

The county’s cricket committee met in Beckenham under Johnson’s chairmanship for the first time since David Fulton’s letter of resignation.

And though through the second half of this summer and when Matthew Fleming was at the helm they were happy to split the one-day and four day leadership, it would appear they now want a man to lead the way in all forms of the game.

Chief executive Paul Millman said: "Although everyone wants to know who the new man might be we have to remember there is no rush, we have until next spring if needs be to appoint a new captain and surely it’s better to take time and get it right than feel pressurised into a hasty choice.

"As you would expect Graham (Johnson) will carry out a very thorough table-top exercise and he is in the middle of a complete review of our playing performance for 2005.

"He will liase with director of cricket Graham Ford and our 2005 skippers David Fulton and Matthew Walker as part of that process and from that will build a short list of internal and possibly external candidates, who will then need to be interviewed.

"It is a vital and demanding role and we must be sure that each candidate really wants the responsibility the job entails."

Mr Millman added: "I would say both of our last two captains Matthew Fleming and David Fulton were of incredibly strong character, yet even they felt the strain of captaincy at times, so it is imperative we get the right man.

"There is no specific list of candidates as yet, but the days of saying 'well you’re next in line, you have a go and see how you get on?' they’re long gone."