Brad Hodge, the former Leicestershire captain now playing for Lancashire, led the support of the campaign among players such as Paul Nixon, Muttiah Muralitharan, Sajid Mahmood and James Anderson.

Hodge said: “As the father of a one year old child myself, I feel for this family and what they are going through at present. It must be devastating for them. We have to do all that we can to keep this whole case uppermost in the public eye for as long as possible in the hope that it will lead to her being found and it will also ensure that other children are not taken.”

Nixon added: “You can only imagine the torment Madeleine’s family are going through at present. It is a terrible situation for them to be in, so we must do our utmost to keep international awareness of the search for her at a high level to improve the chances of achieving a breakthrough.”

It was particularly poignant that the Leicestershire and Lancashire players should join together to offer their backing for the campaign due to the fact that Madeleine’s family live in Rothley but originally came from the Liverpool area.

Now Leicestershire are hoping that other first-class counties will join them in supporting the campaign by wearing the yellow and green wristbands.