Abdul Razzaq signs for Worcestershire

Pakistan allrounder Abdul Razzaq has joined Worcestershire for the remainder of the 2007 season as a replacement for Phil Jaques and Doug Bollinger who have returned to Australia for the A-team tour of Pakistan.

Razzaq had announced his retirement from international cricket as a protest against his omission from Pakistan's Twenty20 World Championship squad. He arrived in Worcester on Sunday and would join the squad for training before travelling to Canterbury for the Championship match against Kent starting on Tuesday.

"It has been very difficult to find quality replacement overseas players because of the forthcoming Twenty20 World Championships and Abdul's availability has come at just the right time," Worcestershire chief executive Mark Newton said. "He has scored over 6500 runs and taken nearly 350 wickets at international level and will certainly give us the quality and experience we need during the last few weeks of the season, particularly in the Natwest Pro40 competition. We have received clearance from the Pakistan Cricket Board but still need to complete the registration procedures with the ECB."