 Dawkes therefore became Derbyshire's regular wicketkeeper from the start of the 1948 season and missed very few matches for the county over the next 13 seasons.In all, he played 392 first-class matches for Derbyshire, which puts him 10th on the all-time list of appearances.He is also third on the list of Derbyshire wicketkeepers, behind his successor, Bob Taylor and Harry Elliott, for catches, stumpings and overall dismissals.