Malinga agrees to T20 deal with Tasmania

Lasith Malinga has agreed in principle to join Tasmania and Sri Lanka's frontline spinners, Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis, are close to signing with Victoria and South Australia respectively for next season's Twenty20 Big Bash competition. The news comes amid rumours that Queensland are contemplating a scenario in which Andrew Flintoff - whom they almost signed last season - would play the latter stages of the tournament at the conclusion of England's tour of South Africa.

Malinga's prospective move, along with those of Chris Gayle (Western Australia) and Dwayne Bravo (Victoria), will greatly boost the profile and prestige of Australia's domestic Twenty20 tournament. That will be further enhanced if, as expected, Muralitharan and Mendis ink deals within the coming weeks, and New South Wales fulfill their ambition of luring Kumar Sangakkara.

But a late-tournament cameo from Flintoff could overshadow all others. Injury prevented the former England captain from turning out for Queensland last season, and a dash across the Indian Ocean after England's tour of South Africa could be on the cards. Trevor Barsby, the Queensland coach, will head to England this month to meet with several international players whom the Bulls are interested in for next season, although it is not known whether Flintoff is among them.

The involvement of Malinga and his Sri Lankan team-mates will be subject to availability as the national team is scheduled to take part in a one-day tour of Bangladesh in January, although there are significant doubts that that series will go ahead. Malinga was the leading wicket-taker among non-Indian players in the recent IPL, collecting 18 at 17.33, and his fast, slinging style will presumably prove a handful for Australian domestic batsmen.

"Twenty20 cricket is a such a hard game for bowlers and it's so batsman-friendly, but he is a guy who has actually found a way to dominate with the ball pretty regularly," Tim Coyle, Tasmania's coach, said. "He is fast, he bowls fantastic yorkers, he's got a good change of pace and the research we have done, he is a fantastic fellow as well."

Each state is allowed two foreign players for the Big Bash and Cricket Australia has given each team an extra $50,000 to help attract the big names.