Durham sign Chanderpaul

Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the former West Indies captain, has been signed by Durham as a replacement for Scott Styris for the remainder of this season. His move to Durham was delayed due to work permit and visa problems.

The batsman, named Man of the Series in the recently-concluded Test series between England and West Indies, will replace Styris whose stint with Durham was ended a week before his contract was due to expire after a series of niggling injuries.

Geoff Cook, Durham's head coach, said: "Signing a player of Shiv's class is a statement of our intent for the rest of the season. He is in exceptional form at the moment and will provide valuable middle order runs while demonstrating what it takes to be a world-class batsman to some of our younger players.

"With a number of important games and obviously the Lord's final on the horizon, adding Shiv to the squad will give us extra batting options as we strive to make this Durham's most successful season."

Chanderpaul, who will join the squad on Saturday, could make his first appearance for Durham as early as the following day against Surrey in a Pro40 match at Guildford. He will be available for the county until the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship starting on September 11.