Wayne Madsen believes the return of supporters to The Incora County Ground will give a lift to the whole club, after more than 18 months without spectators attending live cricket.
Derbyshire’s home LV= County Championship fixture against Durham, which begins on Thursday 20 May, will be the first time Members have stepped foot in the ground since 2019, due to attendance being prevented by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The entire 2020 season was played away from home, as the ground was used as a bio-secure venue to support the return of international cricket, with England playing a five-match T20 series against the West Indies in Derby.
Entry for the Durham match will be exclusively for 2021 Derbyshire Members, and Madsen is looking forward to experiencing the atmosphere of playing in front of supporters once again.
“It’s been nice to be back at home after a season away, but having the fans back will make a huge difference,” he said.
“It will give everybody a lift, not just the players but everyone associated with the club. As players, we’re really excited to have that atmosphere that the crowd provides at The Incora County Ground.
“It’s also massive for those who will come down, because they haven’t been able to watch any county cricket for 18 months. We can’t wait to have everyone down to support us.
“For some of our players, this will be the first time they’ve played in front of our supporters and it will be a great experience for them, having everyone back with us for the game against Durham will be really special.”
Despite a number of promising performances, Derbyshire are yet to register a win after their opening four first-class matches, with three draws and one defeat.
Prior to the return of Members against Durham, Madsen and the side will face defending champions Essex at Chelmsford, and the batsman thinks positive results in the next two matches will be key in moving up Group One.
“We knew that we were off the mark against Nottinghamshire, but we’ve put in some good performances prior to that,” he added.
“We want to be consistent, the last game hurt us but the positives we can take from some performances in that game, as well as in the other matches, are pretty important going into the rest of the competition.
“The next two games, Essex away and then Durham at home, will be really important, in terms of giving us a chance to finish higher up the table.”
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