Muralitharan arrives at Kent

Muttiah Muralitharan has arrived at Canterbury to begin his stint as Kent's overseas player. He was due to have his first net session on Wednesday, and will make his debut against Yorkshire at Scarborough on Sunday.

Murali, who has taken 459 Test wickets in 82 matches and is marching inexorably towards Courtney Walsh's world record of 519, was signed by Kent as a replacement for Andrew Symonds, who has been recalled to Australia on international duty. He will team up with Pakistan's Mohammad Sami, who made a huge impression during the NatWest Challenge last month.

"Sami and Muralitharan should play together at Scarborough and team up for the championship match with Essex during cricket week," said Kent's captain, David Fulton. "Personally as a captain I'm really looking forward to being able to throw the ball to them."

It will be Murali's third spell in county cricket. He played with great success for Lancashire in 1999 and 2001.