Welcome to Buckinghamshire, Matt Pardoe!

The former Herefordshire captain will join the club as our Men’s Professional and Vice-Captain for the upcoming 2026 season.

Matt joins Bucks Cricket with 10 years of National Counties experience, over 4,000 runs and more than 125 wickets to his name, as well as over 2,000 runs as a professional at Worcestershire CCC.

We spoke with our new Men's Vice-Captain ahead of his move to Bucks and asked him what he hopes to bring to the team.

Here’s what he had to say:

Q1. How do you see Buckinghamshire as a former opponent? Is it a county you’re excited to join?

Answer: I’ve only played against Bucks once in recent years, in a pre-season friendly, but it was a good contest. I saw lots of quality cricketers and some exciting young players to work with in the squad and mentor.

Q2. What can you tell us about your previous experience and what we can expect from your role within the team?

Answer: I’m an ex-professional at Worcestershire and then spent 10 years as captain at Herefordshire, so I’ve had plenty of experience at National Counties level. I’m hoping to bring in my coaching background, mentor some of those younger players I mentioned, and help them push for professional contracts and pursue their dreams. I also hope to bring my tactical knowledge, especially with the focus on white-ball cricket, to help us progress beyond the group stages in both the T20 and 50-over competitions. Hopefully, I can contribute with runs, wickets and experience to help get us over the line.

Q3. Looking ahead to the new season, have you got any achievements or targets in mind?

Answer: I just want to show why I’ve played for as long as I have and why I still have the desire to keep playing. I always want to be the best player on the pitch, and I’ll be looking to do that by scoring plenty of runs, leading the stats, and being a dependable cricketer across all formats.

Head of Performance, Jason Harrison shared his delight: "It’s fantastic news that Matt is joining us.

"We were keen to have a player with first-class and National Counties experience, similar to the wish list we had before signing Alexei.

"Matt fits the bill perfectly!"

Image: Roger Byrne