Madsen to make 500th Derbyshire appearance

When the teams take to the field at Lord’s this morning, Derbyshire’s Wayne Madsen will become the sixth cricketer to play 500 matches for the county.

Heritage Officer David Griffin has, uniquely, been at every one of the previous 499 matches and is looking forward to the 500th, and beyond.

Here, he provides an overview of Madsen’s career and places it in the context of those who reached 500 before him.

The first player to play 500 matches for Derbyshire was Harry Elliott, an England Test cricketer who played in the 1936 Championship-winning side. A superb wicketkeeper, Elliott played his 500th game in 1939 and it was a further 28 years before anyone else reached the mark.

Derek Morgan, statistically the county’s leading all-rounder played his 500th game in 1967 and was followed by off-spinner Edwin Smith in 1971 and another wicketkeeper, Bob Taylor four years later.

Derbyshire’s leading run scorer Kim Barnett joined the 500 club in 1990 and therefore it is 35 years since anyone reached that landmark.

When Wayne Madsen walked out to open the batting with Chris Rogers against Gloucestershire at Cheltenham in 2009 few, if any, could have envisaged the career to follow. A second innings unbeaten 170 remains the highest individual debut score for the county and two further hundreds that summer confirmed a player of immense promise.

Madsen was viewed by many, including this writer, as an obdurate opener, happy to bat for long periods. However, as his career evolved it became clear that there was more to the young South African-born player than occupancy of the crease.

Nine first class hundreds in his first two and a half seasons marked Madsen out as a quality cricketer and it was little surprise that when the captaincy became available in 2012 he was appointed and promptly led his side to promotion from the second division of the County Championship.

A fine individual season in the top flight in 2013 produced over 1,200 runs and a year later he scored 388 T20 runs, highlighting his transition from obdurate opener to all-round stroke maker.

He made six first class hundreds in 2016, matching Chris Rogers’ effort in 2009, the only players to register six tons in a season for Derbyshire this century.

Consistency was indisputably at the heart of Madsen’s cricket as evidenced by ten consecutive seasons where he reached 1,000 or more all format runs before Covid-19 brought about a shortened season. Normal service was resumed in 2022 when 1,800 runs almost matched his previous best of 1,867 in 2014.

Six one day hundreds proved his worth in the shorter form of the game but it was his elevation to the pinnacle of Derbyshire’s T20 cricketers which impressed most of all from 2017 onwards.

He scored a record 526 T20 runs as Derbyshire reached the quarter finals for the first time since 2005 and topped that with 527 in 2022 before making his highest aggregate of 580 in the shortest form of the game in 2023.

He is the only player to score two T20 hundreds for Derbyshire including the fastest century in any format, off 47 balls against Durham at Derby in 2022, and with 32 other half centuries, he’s streets ahead of the player with the next most fifties.

His record of 4,884 T20 runs is more than twice as many as the next leading run scorer in that format, and while 3,217 runs in List A matches places him tenth on Derbyshire’s all-time list, he has missed over 30 one day matches as a result of his appearances in The Hundred.

At first class level, his runs tally stands at 15,529 with only Barnett, Denis Smith, Morgan, Les Townsend and Stan Worthington ahead of him.

Overall, however, his all format runs total is 23,630 which leaves only Barnett, with 36,212, ahead of him.

Hundreds are the currency of any top order player and Madsen has made 49 in addition to 135 fifties. Again, only Barnett stands ahead of him.

Beyond the runs and hundreds there have been a few, often crucial, wickets and a remarkable 398 catches. Only Derek Morgan (574) and Donald Carr (404) of non-wicketkeepers have taken more for Derbyshire.

While form is clearly important if a cricketer is to play 500 games for one team, availability and attitude are also vital elements, too and Madsen has maintained a high standard of fitness over the last 17 seasons allied to a level of commitment which is self-evident.

His wicket remains the one most celebrated by the opposition while his relationship with the Derbyshire cricketing public can rarely have been bettered in the history of our county club. Unfailingly polite, always willing to give time to those who sit on the boundary, Madsen has been a tremendous ambassador for cricket in general, and Derbyshire in particular.

From a personal perspective, having watched all 499 games to date, it’s never been a burden trying to capture an attractive-looking photograph of Wayne in action and on the occasions when I’ve conducted in-depth interviews with him, Wayne has always been an interesting and compelling interviewee. On a daily basis, he’s always willing to stop for a chat, a catch-up and often a word or two about statistics!

It’s does seem unlikely that Madsen will reach Barnett’s 813 games record for Derbyshire but Smith’s 505 and Elliott’s 520 are within reach and Morgan’s 567, whilst requiring a further two seasons of regular appearances, shouldn’t be discounted.

Madsen’s 500 games record does, of course, represent matches played in three different formats of the game.

All 520 matches played by Harry Elliott were first class, whereas Madsen will play his 227th at Lord’s – a sign of the difference between the eras. Elliott played largely between the two world wars, whereas Madsen has played at a time when T20 cricket has become a major part of cricket worldwide.

When Madsen walks out at Lord’s for the toss this morning it will be a memorable moment for him and all those closest to him as well as those who have watched him from the boundary.

Will anyone play 500 matches again for Derbyshire? I very much doubt it.

Madsen began playing for Derbyshire when he was 25 years old and is now in his 17th season at the club; judging by the level of player movement within county cricket it is unlikely that in the future Derbyshire will be able to retain a player of his quality. Also, with franchise cricket still increasing, a young Wayne Madsen would today be travelling the world and Derbyshire would see very little of him.

For now, therefore, it’s wholly appropriate to proclaim Madsen as one of Derbyshire’s finest cricketers, unquestionably the best of the 21^st century; and it’s probably worth recommending that you continue to watch him while you can as even he won’t be walking out to bat for Derbyshire forever.

Oh, and one more statistic – his first innings at Lord’s will be his 400th for Derbyshire in first class cricket.

Wayne Madsen Derbyshire Career Batting Statistics

First Class Matches   226       15,529 runs @ 41.85 with 41 100s and 84 50s

List A Matches              95          3,217 runs @ 43.47 with 6 100s and 19 50s

T20 Matches                  178       4,884 runs @ 33.45 with 2 100s and 32 50s

Overall Matches        499       23,630 runs with 49 100s and 135 50s

Most Appearances for Derbyshire