Somerset sign Kevin O'Brien for Twenty20s

Ireland allrounder Kevin O'Brien has been signed by Somerset to play five Friends Life t20 matches, the first of which is against Warwickshire on June 13. The county's other overseas players are South Africa's Richard Levi and Albie Morkel.

"Kevin is a very attractive batsman who can score his runs very quickly and will add to our already exciting batting line up," Somerset's director of cricket, Brian Rose, said.

O'Brien, who scored the fastest World Cup hundred against England in Bangalore in 2011, represented Gloucestershire in the Twenty20 competition last year and scored a 44-ball century - the fastest in English cricket. He has scored 807 runs and taken 28 wickets in 56 Twenty20 matches so far.

Phil Simmons, the Ireland coach, supported the signing. "This is another great opportunity for Kevin to improve his knowledge and skills in the Twenty20 format, which will no doubt help improve him further as a player and help prepare him for the upcoming Twenty20 internationals against Bangladesh in July and South Africa A in August, which all build up to the ICC World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka this September."