ENGLAND batsman Dawid Malan has joined Yorkshire from Middlesex on a four-year deal.

The 32-year-old's future had been the subject of speculation since he stepped down as Middlesex captain at the end of last season.

Malan, who is currently with the England T20 squad in New Zealand, has scored 11,229 first-class runs, including 724 runs in 15 Tests.

He made his Middlesex debut in 2006 and had been contracted at Lord's for another two seasons, but the counties have come to an agreement.

Malan said: "I have had 13 happy and successful seasons with Middlesex, and I will always be grateful to the staff, players and supporters for their encouragement over the years.

"However, this feels like the right time to embrace a new challenge and I am excited by the prospect of joining Yorkshire, one of the great county clubs in English cricket.

"I am looking forward to moving to Leeds, and starting a new chapter of my career."

Malan is due to join up with his new team-mates to begin preparations for 2020 at the end of the month.

Yorkshire coach Andrew Gale said: "It is a fantastic signing for us. As soon as we realised that Dawid had the potential to leave Middlesex, he was a player that we always wanted to speak to. He fits the mould of what we are looking for.

"It is fair to say that we have lacked consistency with the bat for a number of years. We have looked at bringing people in for a while, but it had to fit the right mould for us.

"We needed somebody with experience and Dawid has got Test experience. Not so long ago, we were watching him score runs for England in the Ashes.

"Hopefully, with his experience, it will give us a bit more consistency with the bat."

Yorkshire Director of Cricket Martyn Moxon added: “We are very pleased to acquire someone of Dawid’s quality and class. He gives added experience to our batting line-up and is a top-class performer in his own right.

“You look at our batting line-up at the moment and we have a lot of young players who are still learning their games, but not that much experience. Obviously, Adam Lyth and Gary Ballance are the two most experienced batters that we have on the staff. It is great to have another experienced batsman amongst our promising young players. Hopefully his performances will give them confidence and help with their development.

“Dawid’s a three-format player, so he is a perfect signing for us in this time of our development. We are rebuilding our team and he is going to be a massive part of this going forward.

“Dawid is obviously keen to rekindle his England Test career as well as his white ball career. He also has huge ambitions to come here and win trophies. We have a highly motivated player coming to us and one with great talent."