LONDON, May 21: Former Pakistan skipper Waqar Younis has joined Warwickshire on a one-year contract as replacement for New Zealander Shane Bond who has suffered a suspected stress fracture of the back.

Waqar, who has already enjoyed spells in England with Surrey and Glamorgan, decided to miss the County Championship Division One match with Kent due to general fitness concerns.

Instead, the 31-year-old’s debut has been pencilled in for the home One-day Cup fourth-round clash with Essex in seven days’ time.

“This will probably be my last season in county cricket but I’m a professional cricketer, I enjoy it and my appetite is there,” Waqar said.

“I’ve been training for the last four or five days and things are looking good so I’ll be quite ready to play in the next game.

“They’re a good bunch here, but I still hope I can make a difference.

“The team here is very talented and if things go well for us I feel we’ve got a real chance of winning something.”

Waqar was available for another spell in county cricket after being sacked as Pakistan captain following the team’s first round exit at the World Cup.

Waqar was one of eight players left out of the squad for the subsequent Sharjah tournament.

In 87 Tests he has taken 373 wickets at 23.56 and, despite his poor World Cup, Waqar’s 262 One-day Unternationals have seen him take 416 wickets at 23.84.—AFP