SACHITHRA Senanayake hopes a successful spell with Worcestershire will boost his chances of playing more Test cricket for Sri Lanka.

The spinner enjoyed helping the New Road side secure their first LV= County Cham - pionship win of the season against Somerset after pick - ing up six wickets in the pre - vious game at Sussex.

He is ranked third-best bowler in the world in the ICC T20 rankings and 25th in the one-day international list.

But Senanayake is keen to add to the one Test appearance he has made for his country and believes doing well for Worcestershire will enhance those chances.

The 30-year-old, who is contracted for 10 weeks with the county, said: “One of my dreams is to be a good Test bowler and it will help me to get into the team if I do well in county cricket.

“We all know Rangana Her - ath became a good spinner, almost the number one spinner in the world, and he played a lot of county cricket.

“He got given the challenge and he became the (Sri Lankan) number one spinner.

“I want to take that chal - lenge and I want to be part of the national Test team as well.

“In Sri Lanka, it is a bit hard to bowl but I have a good record in first-class cricket.

“I played with lots of legends like Mahela Jayawardene and Thilan Samaraweera on good, flat wickets so I got enough wickets. I had four or five years of first-class cricket and the last couple of years with the national team. I want to play more Tests. I have only played the one so far.

“So far, I’m doing well in 50 overs and T20. I’m the number three spinner in the world in T20. But cricket is about Test cricket and I want to be part of that format. Hopefully, my best years are still to come and I can do some more good things in the future.”

Colombo-born Senanayake, unsurprisingly, is a big fan of Sri Lanka spin legend Muttiah Muralitharan.

He added: “He is a big hero and helped me a lot. He was an incredible player."