Hampshire sign Dimuth Karunaratne for first half of 2019 county season

The opening batsman, who has eight centuries and more than 4,000 runs to his name in Test cricket, was named in the ICC's long-format team of the year for 2018

Dimuth Karunaratne will join Hampshire in 2019.

The Sri Lanka captain has agreed a deal which will see him represent the south coast county in the County Championship and Royal London One-Day Cup during the first half of the campaign.

The opening batsman, who has eight centuries and more than 4,000 runs to his name in Test cricket, was named in the ICC's long-format team of the year for 2018.

COUNTY SIGNINGS 2019

Karunaratne said: "It has always been my dream to play in the County Championship and I couldn’t be happier for it to be at a county like Hampshire. I am looking forward to continue building on the success from 2018 by playing an important role in Hampshire’s future.

Hampshire director of cricket Giles White said: "We’re delighted to have Dimuth with us for the first half of the season and we’re excited about what he brings to the group, both on and off the pitch.

"He’s a high-class player and in recent months we’ve seen his quality, not only as an opening batsman at the top of the order, but also as a leader as part of Sri Lanka’s recent historic series win in South Africa. We’re really looking forward to welcoming Dimuth to the club."