Darren Maddy believes Warwickshire’s team is “going places” after their powerful start to the season.

And the experienced all-rounder aims to play a big part in the journey, having already had a major input to their rise to the top of the championship Division One table.

Maddy has endured some wretched ill-fortune with injuries in recent years. He was ruled out for a year by knee surgery then suffered a horror head-injury when hit by a short ball during pre-season practice and has also endured several fractures around his hands.

But he has bounced back hard this year, most impressively with a superb century which turned a likely defeat into victory over champions Lancashire at Liverpool.

That innings was all the more special for the 37-year-old in light of his torrid time in the last few seasons. And he is eager to remain at the heart of the Bears’ push for honours.

“It is still early in the season but we have started well and are very positive in our own minds about the way our season is going to go,” Maddy said.

“I think this club is going places. People not only work extremely hard but everything is geared to success and we are reaping the rewards for that hard work.

“I just want to play as big a part in that as I can after quite a difficult few years. That innings at Liverpool was special for me after everything that I have been through with the injuries and our difficult 2010 season, then us getting so close to winning the championship then missing out last year.

“To score a hundred in those circumstances against that attack on a used, turning pitch against the champions and taking four wickets as well was very satisying. It was a massive lift and I just want to take that confidence and form forward into the rest of the season.”

The high regard in which Maddy is held by his peers was clear from the ovation from the Warwickshire balcony at Aigburth when he reached his ton. Everyone connected to the club is delighted to see the former captain back to form and fitness after a catalogue of injury nightmares which tested even Maddy’s indefatigable resilience and optimism.

“My first two years at Warwickshire were successful,” he said. “I scored seven hundreds in my first year and three in my second but then came the knee injury and the following March I was off the pace and got hit in the face. It took me a while to get over that, I admit.

“Then the 2010 season was one of the most difficult batting years in the club’s history. Nobody scored runs which wasn’t ideal for a guy trying to get back into the game after so long out.

“Even last year, when I felt I was playing back towards my best, I broke my hand and missed the last eight weeks. It’s been amazing really after 17 years without a single injury serious enough to keep me out of cricket and I know that, in the last few years, my performances haven’t been to the level I expect.

“But I also know I have more to give. There are some good years left in me. I still love playing cricket and there is still a lot I want to achieve.

“Warwickshire is a fantastic club and I have really embraced it. We have moved here as a family and it’s my home now. Leicestershire was always my home and my heart but Warwickshire has taken over. I would love to continue playing for another four or five years – but I have to back that up with performances.

“I was captain and leader of the team but since then I have been in and out. Now I really want to be that senior player and lead by example as I have always tried to do.

“I want to lead the batting line-up, perhaps a little bit like Shivnarine Chanderpaul did late last season. I would never say I could fill his shoes – I just want to lead from the front and by example.”