"I've got no intention of finishing playing anytime soon," he told BBC Sport. "I haven't once considered it, I think I just love the game too much.

"I've still got a lot to give, a drive and desire to do well, to score runs and take wickets and win games of cricket.

"I want to win games for Kent, so why give it up? Over the past few weeks, I've shown I can do that."

At 43, the Kent all-rounder will remain part of county cricket's furniture into 2020 after agreeing a one-year contract extension.

But in July, Kent revealed they would not be offering the right-hander a new deal after 15 years and Stevens had already begun a loan move to Derbyshire during the T20 Blast.

His future looked set to be back in the East Midlands, but not before he would give Kent supporters what appeared to be one last memorable performance.

He smashed a career-best 237 against Yorkshire and finished the same match earlier this month at Headingley with figures of 7-70.

A few days later, terms had been agreed to keep him at Kent.

A 21-year-old Darren Stevens (left) made his first-class debut for Leicestershire in 1997

"For the last six years really, we've been having the conversations about how things are going and doing another year in June/July time," Stevens said.

"Originally this season, it went the other way and the club were thinking of moving in an opposite direction. I hadn't got off to the greatest of starts this season and I understood that decision.

"But the way I finished this season, I didn't see any need to retire."

Stevens made his first-class debut back in 1997 for Leicestershire, the same season former England captain Graham Gooch called time on his career, aged 44.

With Somerset and England batsman Marcus Trescothick bowing out this season at 43, Stevens will be county cricket's stand-out stalwart in 2020 and turns 44 in April.

What's more, he could find himself lining-up in cricket's newest format next summer, The Hundred.

"I've just put my name in for that and completed the forms," he joked. "I thought 'why not?'

"I've got the experience and played the game. While it's a bit different to T20, it's exciting. T20 took off and what's to say that The Hundred won't do the same?"

Should he be picked in October's draft, Stevens will be able to add a new column to his impressive career stats.

Before this week's County Championship match against Hampshire, his tally stood at 15,616 runs and 515 wickets in first-class cricket.