Ravichandran Ashwin made his first appearance in the Worcestershire dressing room on Saturday ahead of the start of his county stint.

The India international arrived on Friday and will play for Worcestershire for the rest of the county season as the side chase promotion to Division One of the County Championship.

Worcs are currently 35 points behind Division Two leaders Nottinghamshire, with four fixtures left to overhaul that deficit. They were crushed in their last outing, losing to Sussex by nine wickets after being forced to follow on, but will hope that the arrival of Ashwin, currently the No. 3 bowler in Tests, will inspire the team.

Ashwin’s first match will be against Worcs’ rivals Gloucestershire, with the two sides facing off on Monday.