Aaron Finch has signed for Surrey as cover in all competitions for Kumar Sangakkara during the Caribbean Premier League T20.

The Australian T20 captain is one of the most destructive cricketers in the world and currently ranked as the world’s number two T20 batsman.

“This is a great opportunity for me and one I am very much looking forward to,” Finch said. “To have the chance to play all forms of the game is a challenge I will relish, as I have ambitions to represent Australia in Test Match cricket. I’m aware that Surrey have an exciting young squad and I hope I am able to add to their obvious talent.”

Available for all formats of the game, Finch’s debut is set for the Guildford Festival clash between Surrey and Warwickshire on Saturday 2 July.

A popular player for both Australia and the domestic teams he has represented around the world, Finch has considerable International experience in both One Day International and T20 cricket and is keen to try and force his way into the Test Match arena.

Finch recently featured for a Cricket Australia XI in a first-class match against New Zealand, scoring an unbeaten 288 as he set an all time record partnership on Australian soil, adding 503 with Ryan Carters.

Surrey’s Director of Cricket Alec Stewart said: “Securing a player of Aaron’s quality for such a busy period of red and white ball cricket is excellent news for the club and I’m confident we will see his qualities in all formats of the game.”

Surrey add Finch to their NatWest T20 side which also features West Indian all-rounder Dwayne Bravo, whose signing was announced recently. Sangakkara makes up a formidable T20 trio at The Oval.