Madsen commits rest of career to Derbys

By Andy Wilson

Having made a champagne start to his career as a captain, Wayne Madsen says he wants to see out the rest of his playing days with Derbyshire.

The 28-year-old South Africa-born batsman, who becomes England qualified next season after serving his four years of residency, has taken the first step towards that by signing a new three-year contract with the county.

Madsen led Derbyshire to the Division Two title in the LV County Championship last season and was also their highest-scoring batsman with 928 first-class runs at an average of 37.12. Among his three centuries was a career-best unbeaten 231 at Northampton.

Practically all of last season’s promotion-winning squad have signed extended deals since the end of the campaign, which means that, if all goes to plan, Madsen could be captain of a side that will stay basically the same and be allowed to develop for at least the next three years, though he knows they may face tougher days ahead.

“We are under no illusions that it is going to be a lot harder for us next season in Division One and we will have to learn how to deal with the tough times as well as the successful ones,” he said. “There were difficult days this season and the biggest thing for me was that I learned a heck of a lot from having to deal with it.

“But I love the role and it could not have started any better for me this year as a captain. I have to thank all the coaching staff and all the players for that because, without that group around me, none of what we achieved this year would have been possible.

“We still have such a long way to go and a lot of improvement to make but what I want next year is for us to continue to play the sort of fearless cricket we played this year – that’s the biggest goal for Karl Krikken and myself. We’ve got nothing to lose in Division One because we’ve probably been written off already.”

Madsen, born and raised in South Africa, made his debut midway through the 2009 season and made an immediate impact with an unbeaten 170 – the highest-ever score by a Derbyshire player on his debut.

That was the first of 12 centuries for the county so far. Madsen has also contributed 12 fifties, which is a more than reasonable strike-rate in only 99 first-class innings for Derbyshire, and he says he cannot imagine playing for anyone else through the rest of his career.

“That was one of the things my wife, Kyla, and I thought about before signing this new contract because I will be 31 by the end of it and it would be very hard to move clubs at that kind of age,” he added.

“We discussed it but really I have no desire to move clubs. We love it here. Derbyshire is our home and this is where I want to play my cricket. We have such a good thing going at Derbyshire. It has been exciting to be involved in that and I want to play a part in taking it to the next level.”


Date: 17/10/2012 06:57:00 by Andy Wilson
In: Today | Derbyshire |