It’s fair to say that Derbyshire’s premier batsman Wayne Madsen hasn’t always enjoyed the best of fortunes in matches against close rivals Nottinghamshire.

Since first signing on at the County Ground back in 2009, the South-African born strokemaker has only been victorious twice in 13 competitive matches when facing Mick Newell’s green and golds.

Both successes – in a game shortened to just nine overs in 2013, and again last summer – have come in the quickfire 20-over format.

Now Madsen is keen to improve that meagre return by notching his first victory in List A cricket against their near-neighbours when they meet at Welbeck’s Sookholme Lane home in on Sunday (July 24) – there next Royal London Cup outing after a sizeable gap because of the way fixtures have fallen.

It’s a desire intensified not only by Derbyshire’s flying start that sees them currently top of the North Group standings after four games, but also because he wants to satisfy the club’s fans making the short trip across the border, who have so often suffered against Notts in recent years.

“It’s a game to look forward to on a number of levels and for me it’s personally exciting because I’ve never played at Welbeck before,” said Madsen. “There is definitely a derby rivalry there that we are aware of as players, and to beat our neighbours from just up the A52 is always a great achievement.

“We lost out to Notts in the quarter-finals two years ago where James Taylor played a fantastic innings (scoring 146 not out) to take the game away from us and help them into the semis.

“Last year we won against Notts at home in the T20, that was a really big win for us, and we’ll be looking to continue our form in this as well.

“The supporters want bragging rights with people they work with. There always is the banter between the two sets of fans. It doesn’t quite have the rivalry of a Forest v Derby County match, but there is still that rivalry – so we’d love to win it for our fans and keep the good start going.”

Madsen is not surprised that Derbyshire have started so well in the 50-over competition, with Hamish Rutherford and Ben Slater scoring centuries to help secure seven wickets wins against Worcestershire and Durham respectively, while there have been two weather wash-outs.

He says the signs of improvements were on the cards last season, even if results were not always forthcoming, as the team finished bottom of their group, losing 10 of their 14 matches.
Madsen said: “In the last two seasons we have played much better cricket with the white ball and in particular in the 50-over competition. We have started well in this competition and I know Notts have been racking up the runs too.

“But we really should have qualified for the quarters last year with the type of cricket we were playing. It’s a format that we do play well in and we’ve got ourselves off to another good start, so we want to kick on and book a spot in the quarter-finals this year.”

It will be Derbyshire’s first game at the John Fretwell Complex, although they did play at Welbeck Abbey Cricket Ground, Warsop in a County Championship game back in 1901 and again in 1904 – games that ended in an innings defeat and a draw.

“We are all looking forward to playing there,” said Madsen. “It will be really good to play Notts at an outground. Our fans who live in the north of the county, particularly those from the Chesterfield area, are aware how good watching cricket at an outground can be. I’m sure they will be coming across the border in their numbers to support us.

“It is very different to playing at stadiums and it a bit more intimate in terms of the crowds because they are closer to the field. It creates a different type of atmosphere, a festival atmosphere, that is great to be a part of.

“As players we look forward to it. When we play at Chesterfield it is always an exciting experience and the same will be the case for a ground like Welbeck.”

Already there have been a raft of big-scoring games in the Royal London Cup this summer, not least a remarkable game between Notts and Northants at Trent Bridge that brought an aggregate of 870 runs as the hosts racked up 445 for 8 and the visitors replied with 425 all out.

Madsen sees no reason why another high-scoring match will not be in the offing, with T20 cricket, in his opinion, helping to push the run-getting boundaries ever further in the 50-over game.

He said: “The two new balls still make you a little more cautious early doors than in 20-over cricket. The first 10 overs from a bowling point of view is very important, as it is from a batting point of view too.

“But the mentality of 20-over cricket has affected the 50-over game and the way people go about it. You know that if you have wickets in hand for the last 15 or 20 overs you can get 150 to 200 runs during that period, which means scores can be so big.

“On a decent wicket you know that 300 on a decent wicket is nowhere near enough when it used to be a case that 220 was a score that could win you a game.”

There are still a few hospitality places available for the Welbeck game at £40 per person, which includes admission, parking at £5 per car, a three-course Sunday lunch, a VIP seating area and a dedicated bar area.

Tickets for the match are available from www.nottsccc.co.uk and are priced at £10 for adults, £5 for juniors and £7 for senior citizens (over 65) and under-21s.

Ground admission in inclusive of access to the ground and seating in any stand apart from the members’ pavilion.