Muralitharan joins Kent

They are winless after seven County Championship matches, and staring relegation full in the face, but Kent's prospects for the season have increased tenfold after it was announced that Muttiah Muralitharan would be joining them for the remainder of the season.

Murali is the most prolific wicket-taker in world cricket, with 459 wickets in 82 Tests and a further 342 in 223 ODIs. He played a similarly truncated season for Lancashire in 1999, in which he picked up 66 wickets in just seven matches - and in one of those he didn't even bowl. He returned two seasons later and repeated his success with 50 wickets in another seven-match stint, and almost single-handedly saved Lancashire from relegation.

Murali will be available to play for Kent from July 21, initially as a replacement for Andrew Symonds, who will be on international duty with Australia. He will then fill in for Kent's other overseas player, Mohammad Sami, who returns to Pakistan in September for their series against Bangladesh.

"We are thrilled to have Murali with us for the latter part of the season," said Kent's director of cricket, Ian Brayshaw. "As we found with Steve Waugh last year, to have a player of such international standing has a huge impact throughout the Club and it will be a particularly good opportunity for our younger players to learn from one of the world's greatest bowlers."

Murali's first appearance for Kent will be on July 27, in the National League fixture against Yorkshire at Scarborough.