Paul Horton signs for Leicestershire from Lancashire

Leicestershire have signed batsman and former Lancashire captain Paul Horton on a three-year contract.

He joins Neil Dexter, another high-quality batsman with captaincy experience, who also signed for the county earlier this week.

Opener Horton, whose spell as captain included leading the Red Rose county to the NatWest T20 Blast final in 2014, has amassed 9,522 first-class runs at an average of 37.63.

Horton, 32, has 51 half-centuries and 21 first-class hundreds to his name with a career-best score of 209. He has also made 1,448 runs in the T20 format with a strike rate of just under 109.

Leicestershire chief executive Wasim Khan said: "It is terrific that we have secured the signing of two experienced batsmen with leadership experience in county cricket in Paul Horton and Neil Dexter.

"Like Neil, Paul has an excellent track record in all three formats of the game and will be another great role model for our younger professionals to learn from. We are delighted to have both players on board for the next three seasons." 

Horton made his debut for Lancashire in 2003 and was the leading run-scorer when they won the Championship in 2011.

Despite captaining the county to the T20 Blast final last year, Horton was overlooked for the Lancashire captaincy when it was handed to Tom Smith to replace Glen Chapple.