Wayne Madsen - Man of Substance

It was, for me, quite gratifying to wake up this morning and find that Wayne Madsen had been voted Player of the Year at the annual awards night.

Madsen has been a great asset to Derbyshire since he first came out of the Lancashire Leagues in 2009 with a run of scores that highlighted a very fine player. An average of 58 that summer owed a lot to being the unknown quantity and also to some decent tracks, but there was little doubt that John Morris had unearthed a gem in the South African-born player.

He had scored thousands of runs as professional and guest professional in the leagues and, cricket anorak that I am, his name stuck in my mind when he made scores of 38 not, 83, 29 and 57 in second eleven championship games, as well as 135 against Durham in a one-day game. To his credit, John Morris signed him on soon after I suggested Madsen as a worthwhile talent on this blog - though I am not, of course, claiming responsibility for the deal...

When he came into the senior XI he was an instant success and Madsen quickly became established as a very good county cricketer. There were 940 championship runs in 2010 before a dip last year. This summer, far from being affected by the cares of captaincy, he appears to have thrived on it, his 928 runs at an average of nearly 38 being an excellent return. His one-day form was a little patchy, but I feel that the player will benefit from a stable berth in the side, rather than filling in where there is the greatest need in moves of genuine altruism,

His captaincy has been steady and reliable, rather than from the Eddie Barlow Book of Daring Deeds and Inspirational Feats, but there are signs that with greater experience he could become truly excellent in the role. Increasingly as the summer wore on there were bowling changes that bore immediate fruit, with Wainwright, Durston and Whiteley the regular protagonists. A greater awareness of his charges was obvious and I liked the way that Madsen skippered from mid-off or mid-on, able to communicate with his bowlers and make any changes required, some of them subtle and unnoticed.

He is a thinking, intelligent man and that was obvious from his work as the summer progressed, yet it was his triumph over adversity that marked Madsen down as someone quite special. Lesser men would have stayed off the pitch with the painful rib injury that made his monumental innings at Northampton quite astonishing. Yet mere words cannot reflect the admiration of Derbyshire fans for his century against Gloucestershire, shortly after the death of the unborn baby daughter of Wayne and his wife Kyla. It was a quite extraordinary effort and, being set such an example by their skipper, one sensed a Derbyshire side that was close throughout growing even closer as the summer progressed.

There were quiet words of reassurance for fielders who missed chances from an undemonstrative leader who has the total respect of his side. Tom Poynton acknowledged Madsen's crucial help in his maiden ton at Northampton and the skipper remained in control throughout, always with a ready smile and a friendly persona that makes him ideal for the role of county captain.

He's set himself quite a task in following this summer's exploits and now deserves a breather for a few weeks, although his hockey coaching commitments with Belper Ladies will doubtless fill his winter months before the players report back for pre-season training.

He's quite a man, Wayne Madsen and fully deserves his award.