Madsen appointed Derbyshire captain

Wayne Madsen, the South African-born opening batsman, has been appointed Derbyshire captain following the retirement of Luke Sutton.

Derbyshire, who sacked coach John Morris during a match against Essex in May, were quick to appoint a new captain after the unexpected retirement of Sutton, who had received treatment for depression during the 2011 season.

Madsen, 27, began his career with KwaZulu-Natal in 2003 and played in the Lancashire League during the English summers before moving to the UK in 2008. He secured a contract with Derbyshire in 2009 and scored an unbeaten 170 on debut against Gloucestershire.

"I'm extremely honoured and looking forward to the challenge of leading an exciting young team," said Madsen, who has scored 2,476 first-class runs for Derbyshire at 35.88. "The squad has made significant strides during the past year. It will be a privilege to lead this group of players."

Head coach Karl Krikken is confident Madsen is the perfect replacement for Sutton. "As an excellent leader within the squad and as a model professional, Wayne is the ideal candidate to take over captaincy duties," he said. "He proved to be a very popular stand-in captain in one-day cricket during the latter part of last season and I know he will do an excellent job in the position on a full-time basis."