Matt Dodds named new Club Captain

As we head into 2026, we are delighted to announce the appointment of Matt Dodds as the club's new Club Captain following outgoing Club Captain Harry Lane stepping down at the end of a very successful 2025 season. 

Chairman Chris Sketchley had nothing but good things to say about the appointment “I am absolutely delighted to announce Matt Dodds as the new Club Captain at High Wycombe Cricket Club. Doddsy follows in the footsteps of Harry Lane who did an immense job as Club Captain and we now look forward to Matt building on Harry's great work. Doddsy, who recently won the Clubman of the Year award, will impart his great cricketing experience and knowledge which I believe will help us develop as a club.Matt is a familiar and respected figure throughout the club. Alongside his playing experience, he has contributed significantly as the club’s senior batting coach, delivering one to one support to players and helping develop junior cricketers coming through the system. His commitment to supporting players at every level demonstrates the leadership qualities that make him the ideal appointment. We congratulate Matt on his appointment and look forward to an exciting new chapter under his captaincy.”

Matt has a long, rich history with the Club, starting out coaching his children Archie and Billy Dodds from U11s through the age groups through to the U19s, with plenty of junior titles along the way.

Alongside working with our juniors, Matt is also the lead on our very successful Academy, which has so far seen 3 players in Archie Dodds, Billy Dodds and Aazam Khan go through our Academy system to receiving their first team caps. Not only has Matt been involved in our Juniors but has played a big role with our Senior and Women's teams. In his position as head batting coach, Matt has had a hand in plenty of our players batting triumphs through the years. His dedication, sacrifice and willingness to support so many areas of the club make him a superb person to continue to take the club forward. 

For Matt, this isn't just another role at the club, “It’s a huge role and I have some big boots to fill! But it is also a great honour and opportunity. The chance to help develop the club and build on the hard work that has gone before is something I am really looking forward to”. 

As with any new role, there are areas that we want to focus on. Women's cricket at Wycombe is going from strength to strength and entering its 4th year since reforming in 2022. “A real priority for me is to see the women's section continue to grow and prosper. To this end, we have already engaged Maisie Taylor as our Women's Cricket Development Manager. Maisie brings lots of coaching and playing experience from Bucks and will act as a female figurehead and role model for the squad”.

The success of our juniors has been paramount to our success as a club “My other priorities are to ensure our youth players progress through the men's teams with the ultimate ambition of growing exceptional first team cricketers of the future. We are blessed with a fabulous Junior section, which we have worked hard to develop over many years. They really are the life blood of the club. Not everyone can play in the first team of course but we hope to provide such an enjoyable and progressive playing environment that juniors remain playing and contributing to all the teams in the club.”

Following a disappointing year for several teams in 2022, the club has bounced back, gaining impressive momentum with multiple title wins and promotions in 2024 and 2025. Consequently there is terrific confidence around our Men's teams heading in the 2026 season, “My other focus will be on winning games of cricket. I am really excited to work with the captains to fine tune selection so that we get the balance right between growing players and winning games. High Wycombe is the biggest and best club in the area and this has been built on success on the field. If I can help achieve more promotions and championships, that would be the greatest reward.”

The club has a host of talent from our Juniors, Women's and Men's section, all of which Matt has a hand in developing alongside the wider coaching team at the club. Our academy is at the centre of the future development of the club, “I truly believe that we are second to none in our dedication to coaching young players. The result has been an exceptional crop of young players and increasingly we are drawing in players from other clubs who recognise that Wycombe offers the best opportunity to develop their game. With the training and coaching we offer, we really are the centre of excellence in the area. This breeds a culture of skill development that permeates through the juniors to the seniors.” 

Our coaching set up at the club has been something of constant development over the last decade. We have 14 ECB level 2 coaches and a Level 3 coach in Obi Sarwar as our head coach at the club. “Highly skilled and experienced coaches are always at hand to help player development and it is wonderful to watch this in action at training”.

With the coaching on offer at the club, there have been a number of players who have benefited from the high level of coaching on offer at the club by our dedicated coaches “Seeing players invest in these lessons and translate them to the pitch is just the greatest reward. The player you are now is not the player you can become. No ceiling is set. There are many examples of this but to mention a few, Glitch doubling his long term average in one season and becoming the top run scorer at the club, Harry Lane turning himself from a bowler who bats into one of the most destructive batters in the league and a barely 18 year old home grown batter becoming the leading run scorer in the Home Counties Prem in Billy Dodds.

People inside and outside the club see these examples and it demonstrates that improvement is attainable, with the right mindset, no matter how old you are”.

Matt was rewarded for his significant contributions and commitment to the club at our annual awards dinner with the distinguished and most prestigious award of Club Person of the year for 2025, “This was a huge honour and it meant so much to me. I do what I do because I love coaching. I love to help people get better and grow both as players and people. That is my reward. But I also think one of the most precious things in life is to gain the respect of people that matter to you. This award made me feel loved and appreciated. It was very special to me and I am very grateful.” 

Our outgoing Club Captain of 2024 and 2025 Harry Lane echoed the thoughts of Chairman Chris Sketchley, “Matt is an excellent appointment for the role of club captain in an ever changing landscape of how club cricket is run. The dedication that Matt shows on and off the pitch is second to none, I can't think of anyone better to continue to move the club forward into its next chapter and I look forward to supporting Matt in any way I can”.

From all Warriors at the club, we wish Matt huge success in the role.