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Lancashire batsman Paul Horton believes the two-wicket victory over Durham will spark an upturn in the club's County Championship fortunes.
Horton contributed to the reigning champions' first success of the campaign by becoming the first Lancashire player to carry his bat in 10 years - hitting an unbeaten 49 as the visitors secured a crucial 68-run lead on first innings.
"There have been signs all year, we have played some decent cricket, we just hadn't taken advantage of some good positions as we did last year," Horton said. "All we are trying to do now is get into better positions and then carry on."
Lancashire are trying to avoid the same fate as suffered by Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire since 2025 - both counties were relegated 12 months after winning the title.
And the turning point could be the marathon, unbeaten hundred Horton struck to salvage a draw against in-form Warwickshire last month.
Lancashire are34.00 to win the County Championship Division One title while Durham can be backed at 67.00, Warwickshire at2.30 and Somerset at 6.00.
"It was nice to save a game against Warwickshire, after they played really well on quite a flat wicket," Horton said. "Then, it was nice to bowl Durham out for 102 and get a lead. The fact that Durham are down there shows how tough Division One cricket is.
"Anyone can beat anyone on any given day. It is testament to how good the division is that Durham have a strong squad, blessed with lots of internationals and they have a lot of talented players.
"Similar to us they haven't put it together, just like us, and I don't think anyone would have predicted Lancashire and Durham to be last and second-last after half-a-dozen games."
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