Brendan Taylor , the former Zimbabwe captain who abandoned an international career to play county cricket, caused consternation by falling asleep in an unlocked car after his celebrations of Nottinghamshire's progress to the semi-finals of the Royal London Cup went haywire.

Taylor had to be woken by police after a Nottingham man opened his unlocked Chevrolet Matiz to find him sleeping off a long night.

The Nottingham Evening Post described how Michael Whitaker, a business development manager from West Bridgford, close to Nottinghamshire's Trent Bridge ground, had stumbled across Taylor upon leaving his home to go to work.

Taylor had taken refuge in the car after becoming disorientated several hours after Nottinghamshire's quarter-final victory against Durham.

The police were called before an amicable solution was reached. "I did not know what to do," Mr Whitaker told the newspaper. "Someone I didn't know had fallen asleep in our car. An officer tried to wake him up and when he came round, he was dazed. It was the most bizarre situation I think I have ever been in.

"I don't think he knew where he was but he was very apologetic and it quickly became clear that it was very innocent. Realising who it was made it even funnier because how often do you find an international cricket star asleep in your car?"

Nottinghamshire have yet to make a statement on the incident.