Lancashire have signed Pakistan slow left-arm spinner Noman Ali for the final six matches of the County Championship season, bolstering their attack for the decisive stretch of the four-day competition.

The 39-year-old, who has taken 101 wickets in 22 Tests since debuting for Pakistan in 2021, is likely to make his Red Rose debut against Northamptonshire on 20 August, according to BBC Sport. Lancashire confirmed the signing on 6 August, with the fixtures running through late August and September.

Lancashire's director of cricket performance, Mark Chilton, said Noman's record "speaks for itself" with the red ball and that his experience and know-how would make a real difference across the closing six games. It is the kind of late-season injection a county side chases when every over counts.

Noman's journey to this point is unusual. He made his Pakistan debut at 34, a late arrival on the international scene, and promptly took five wickets against South Africa. Since then he has become one of the most reliable spinners in Test cricket — a left-armer who flights the ball, finds turn on wearing pitches, and builds pressure through accuracy rather than outright mystery.

His finest hour came in October 2024, when he claimed nine wickets in a Test against England — including 6 for 42 in the second innings — to seal a series win for Pakistan. That performance underlined what he offers on surfaces that begin to break up, exactly the kind of conditions Lancashire will encounter as the English summer fades and pitches tire.

For Lancashire, bringing in a spinner of Noman's pedigree at this stage is straightforward business. The County Championship, England's domestic first-class competition, is a four-day format where endurance and skill with the red ball matter most. As matches pile up in late summer, pitches that have hosted cricket for months tend to favour spin, and a bowler with 101 Test wickets knows precisely how to exploit that.

Noman's overall first-class record is formidable: 192 wickets in 53 matches, as Lancashire Cricket noted on their official Instagram when announcing the signing. That is the combined weight of a decade and a half of domestic cricket in Pakistan alongside his international career.

Lancashire fans will get their first look at him at Northampton later this month. If his recent history is any guide, he will not need long to settle.