It is no every day that an English county acquire the services of one of the best living bowlers of our time, although Gloucester announced on Wednesday that they will be signing Muttiah Muralitharan for the next two domestic Twenty20 campaigns.

Murali will represent Sri Lanka at the forthcoming Cricket World Cup before representing Kochi in the Indian Premier League and then heading to England for the Twenty20 season.

The spinner said: “I am really looking forward to playing for Gloucestershire. It is a young exciting team and I hope I can add some experience to the mix.

“The last time I played at Bristol I took five wickets and I look forward to an exciting t20 competition with the Gladiators.”

Gloucestershire director of Cricket John Bracewell said: “This is an exciting and once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work and play with one of the greatest cricketers in the history of the game.

“Whenever I have watched and observed Murali he has always had and shown an infectious love for the game of cricket. This is something that I personally am looking forward to working with.”