Wayne Madsen says that Derbyshire have lofty ambitions for their first Finals Day appearance.
After comprehensively beating Gloucestershire by seven wickets in the quarter-final, the Falcons now prepare for their first-ever Finals Day.
Madsen was part of a quartet of top-order batsmen that have shared 1,500 runs across 13 innings throughout the competition for Derbyshire.
Billy Godleman, Leus du Plooy and Luis Reece all combined with Madsen to score 14 half-centuries on the road to Finals Day, while Ravi Rampaul’s 22 wickets are the most taken by any bowler in the competition this season.
While he acknowledges the achievement of reaching the final four, Madsen says that the Falcons are focused on trying to win the Vitality Blast.
“We are certainly better prepared as a team now,” Madsen said.
“We’ve found a decent combination in terms of what we do with both bat and ball, especially with the ball in the last few games we really have been excellent.
“The batters have been given a platform to go and chase scores and also set totals that we know with the ball we can defend.”
“The most important thing going into the quarter-final was that we were really calm and composed and that stood us in good stead,” Madsen said.
“We didn’t over-analysis and over-think things too much, we went in with the similar mindset that we had in the previous few games.
“It’s certainly a special achievement for us but it’s only the first part of the plan that we’ve done which was to get through to Finals Day. We’ve got a lot more to come and now we want to make sure we go on and win it.”
Madsen has also praised all-rounder Matt Critchley for his form in the second half of this season’s Vitality Blast.
Critchley has claimed 17 wickets in the competition and Madsen believes his contributions have been vital for Derbyshire.
“Even after Gloucestershire got off to a good start we knew we could shut down in that middle period with Critch who has been outstanding in the second half of the competition when he’s been our number one spinner,” Madsen added.
“He’s really stood up. He bowls at a good pace and he’s bowling into the wicket a bit more. Playing at home at Derby can be difficult for a spinner because of the short boundaries straight and I think that’s what he’s adapted to.
“He’s bowled into the wicket to try and get hit square and that’s also helped in the away games. We’ve really put the squeeze on the momentum of the opposition in the last four wins we’ve had.”
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