Worcestershire all-rounder Alex Hepburn raped a sleeping woman in April 2017, a court was told.

Hepburn, who last represented the county in August 2017, allegedly raped the woman in a dark room shortly after she had had consensual sex with Hepburn’s then Worcestershire teammate Joe Clarke.

As reported by Press Association, the jury was told that the victim assumed that she was in bed with Clarke but when she woke up, he had left the room to be sick. She saw that Hepburn was in bed with her instead, performing a sex act on her. It was only when she touched Hepburn’s hair and heard him speak in an Australian accent that she realised what was happening, the court heard.

Opening the prosecution’s case, Miranda Moore QC described the moments immediately after the alleged rape. She said: “Hepburn says to her, ‘You are beautiful’ and tries to encourage her to continue having sex with him but she is having absolutely none of it.”

She added that the woman then told Hepburn he was a “sick bastard” and phoned a friend to tell her about the alleged attack. The court was told that the complainant was found crying in the street and was found by a member of the public who phoned the police.

Details of a WhatsApp group chat found on Hepburn’s phone that was set up to record details of the women its members had slept were given to the court. Moore told the jury that the chat included references to ‘freshies’ and ‘re-heats’ that allegedly referred to whether or not a member of the group had slept with a particular woman previously.

Moore told the court: “It detailed the game that these young men engaged in and intended to follow. This game had precious little to do with cricket.

“The ‘score’ that he hoped to make may well help you in the explanation as to what he was doing to her. He saw that girl asleep in the bed and decided to take advantage.”

The trial continues.