Essex sign Australian spinner McGain

English county Essex signed Australian leg-spinner Bryce McGain until the end of the season on Friday.

McGain has been drafted in after Essex's previous overseas player Danish Kaneria was named in Pakistan's squad for their Test clashes against England and Australia.

The 38-year-old made his Test debut for Australia against South Africa in March 2009 after an impressive run of form at domestic level.

But he struggled in Cape Town, finishing with total figures of 0-149 from 18 overs and making just two runs in two innings. He has since fallen out of favour at international level.

Victoria-born McGain is available for selection for Essex's 40-over match against Northamptonshire on Sunday, but is not eligible to play in the Twenty20 quarter-final against Lancashire next Tuesday.

Essex head coach Paul Grayson told the club's official website: "We have been searching for a new overseas player for a while now. It has not proved easy to replace Danish.

"We can now look forward to the rest of the season having received good feedback from various sources regarding the pedigree of Bryce.

"He had a good season last year with Victoria. We have been scouting around and Bryce is certainly the best available bowler."