Madsen relishes his chance as Derbyshire hope for T20 glory
An oustanding servant since 2009 tells Tim Wigmore he is looking forward to Finals Day
In the 17th season of the Twenty20 Blast, Derbyshire arrive at Edgbaston as the 18th and last county to make it to Finals Day. Wayne Madsen, an outstanding servant of Derbyshire since 2009, has spent many of those previous occasions watching from home. Now, he is relishing finally making it there as a player.
“There’s a buzz around the city and the county at the moment,” says Madsen. “For everybody at the club, it’s a pretty special moment to finally get there. It’s been a long time and as players we probably owed it to the supporters and the staff to get there.” Derbyshire are perhaps unlikely pioneers. But, three years ago, they became the first county to appoint a specialist T20 coach, a policy that has so far only been followed by Middlesex. While it was unsuccessful at Lord’s, specialism has coincided with a notable uptick in Derbyshire’s fortunes. After 11 straight years without reaching the quarter-finals, Derbyshire got through to the last eight under John Wright in 2017, and have now gone one better under Dominic Cork.
“For us as a team we’ve found that it has helped a lot,” Madsen says. “It just adds an extra bit of energy when you start the T20 competition having a separate coach come in and purely focus on that. They differ in their personalities but they both bring the same message – let us be as free as possible and express ourselves on the pitch. Their biggest thing is just making sure that we’re prepared to the best of our individual abilities and are clear with our roles.”
This is particularly important given that the small size of Derbyshire’s squad means that, rather than replacing players, the club have to focus on getting the best out of the ones they have. Derbyshire, indeed, have lacked a marquee overseas player, utilising only New Zealand’s Logan van Beek and Ireland’s Boyd Rankin, who has just played five matches. Only 14 players have played T20 for Derbyshire this season.
“Having a settled team has definitely been an important thing,” Madsen adds. “Having individuals knowing their roles has played a crucial role in it because it adds that belief and understanding that everyone knows what they have to do for us to be successful.”
Derbyshire have also showed character, reinvigorating their campaign after slumping to 24 for six during a heavy defeat at home to Leicestershire in a pool game. They have won four straight games since, including a clinical quarterfinal victory at Bristol.
The thrashing by Leicestershire “woke us up in the competition”, Madsen says. “That was pretty embarrassing with it being a TV game. Since then we’ve stepped up performances.”
Madsen, whose 447 runs this year are the sixth highest in the T20 Blast, perhaps embodies the best of Derbyshire. His top-order excellence was recognised when, earlier this year, he was picked up by the Pakistan Super League on the advice of T20 analysts.
“Playing at Derbyshire, I’ve maybe gone under the radar a little bit but my stats have been pretty good over the last four years or so.”
For Madsen and his side, Finals Day looms as a time to mark all these improvements with a moment of defining glory.
“We go in as underdogs. But hopefully we come out of it with a lot more respect from the teams around the country,” he said.
“It would be huge – up there with one of the best years the club would have had for a long time, if not ever. It’s going to be epic if we are able to do it.”