Cumbrian Paul Nixon has been named the new head coach at his former club Leicestershire.

The former England wicketkeeper, from Langwathby, today said he was "immensely proud" to have landed the role.

It sees the 46-year-old take the top job at Grace Road where he enjoyed a distinguished and trophy-laden playing career across four decades.

Nixon said: "I am immensely proud and honoured to be returning to Leicestershire County Cricket Club as head coach.

"The club has always been close to my heart and I have lived in the city of Leicester for 30 years, so I know how much it means to everyone here.

“There are a lot of good people at the club. We have a lot of loyal members, supporters and sponsors, and I want to bring the good times back to Leicestershire County Cricket Club.

“I enjoyed lots of success as a player with the Foxes. We won the County Championship twice and got to five T20 Finals Days in nine years, winning on the three occasions we got to the final.

"I’d like to thank the club for believing in me. I know that I can make a positive impact in my new role and I can’t wait to get started.”

Carlisle-born Nixon's playing career at Leicestershire in two spells saw him help the Foxes to County Championship titles in 1996 and 1998.

He contributed to T20 success in 2004, 2006 and in his swansong year of 2011.

He scored 19,418 runs and claimed 1,231 dismissals for Leicestershire in 714 appearances across all three formats, also captaining the club from 2007-8.

His form for Leicestershire also saw him called up for England's one-day and T20 sides in 2006-7, with the Cumbrian playing for his country in the 2007 World Cup.

He has recently enjoyed success as a coach in the Caribbean Premier League, twice leading Jamaica Tallawahs to victory in the tournament.

Leicestershire chief executive Wasim Khan said: “We are delighted that Paul has agreed to rejoin us as our head coach.

"Paul is dedicated, passionate and knowledgeable, and has been a huge part of successful changing rooms both as a player and coach.

“Paul will get the very best out of the players. He has a positive outlook, a great attitude, and is a winner. All of those attributes make Paul the perfect person to take Leicestershire County Cricket Club forward.”

Nixon replaces Pierre de Bruyn, who left the club at the start of September. Other names who had been linked with the job include Stuart Law, Jon Sadler and Richard Pybus.

The Cumbrian played for Edenhall and Vickers in his home county before joining Leicestershire, where he made his first-class debut in 1989. He joined Kent in 2000 but returned to Grace Road three years later.