This year is proving rather exceptional for Dan Lincoln – and it could well get better in the next few weeks.
Lincoln is fast establishing himself as the ultimate all-rounder at football and cricket, and is the type of guy capable of being damn good at any sport he takes up.
He regularly makes the headlines in the local media, but that was recently extended to the national level when The Times newspaper devoted the best part of a page to his exploits.
Having joined them in December 2021, the 27-year-old Lincoln helped Dorking Wanderers to win the Vanarama National League South play-offs, which means they are now in the National League along with the likes of Aldershot Town, Maidenhead United, Notts County, Wrexham, Oldham Athletic and Torquay United.
And their visit to Oldham this Saturday is being shown live on BT Sport 1 with a 5.20pm kick-off.
It is an incredible story as the Surrey club have only been going since 1999 and then rocketed up the Non-League pyramid with 12 promotions. Their remarkable achievements were recognised a few Saturdays ago by Jeff Stelling who broke off giving the latest scores on his Sky Sports show to comment on Dorking’s brief history as he saw them come from two goals down to draw with Chesterfield.
Lincoln, who went through the Reading FC Academy and also had a spell at Arsenal as well as time with clubs like Hungerford Town, Farnborough and Basingstoke Town, missed that game but is expected back between the posts as Wanderers look to establish themselves in the top tier of the English Football Pyramid.
Berkshire CCC
At the moment he has to juggle his life between football and cricket, and it is the summer sport where he is currently looking to pick up another trophy or two.
In his first season as skipper, the big-hitting batsman and wicketkeeper has led the Berkshire county team to the final of the National Counties’ Trophy final where they will play Cumbria at the Wormsley Estate Ground (as seen more than once on ITV’s Midsomer Murders) in Stokenchurch on August 28.
And Berkshire are also favourites to win the Western Division 1 title in the National Counties Championship and qualify for the National Final, which they won four times in a row from 2016 to 2019.
So it could prove a particularly memorable year for Dan, who plays club cricket for Slough in the Home Counties Premier League and has also played first-class cricket for Middlesex and Kent. In 2019 he carried out the 12th-man duties for England in the Ashes Test against Australia at Lord’s. He also captains the National Counties Cricket Association’s representative team.
He is a perfect role model for all those youngsters who enjoy playing both football and cricket.
UPDATE: As of November 2023 Dan Lincoln is the Slough Town goalkeeper
