Dale made his debut for
Lincolnshire County Cricket Club in the 1949
Minor Counties Championship against
Derbyshire Second XI. He initially played for the county until 1952. He was a student at
Durham University and played for the winning University cricket team in the final of the
Universities Athletic Union Championship in 1953. He later appeared for
Northamptonshire Second XI in the Minor Counties Championship in 1955 and 1956 but was unable to break into the First XI. Following the season Dale resigned his position at Kent, opting to become a teacher instead, although he played twice for Kent's Second XI during the 1959 school holidays, taking 14 wickets. He made one appearance for Northamptonshire's Second XI in 1967 before playing regularly for Lincolnshire between 1970 and 1979 although his career limited his playing opportunities. Dale took a total of 151 wickets for Lincolnshire at an
average of 20.08. He played three times for the county in the
Gillette Cup, taking 3/33 against
Glamorgan in 1974 as Lincolnshire became only the second minor county to defeat a first-class county in the competition. He also made one appearance for Minor Counties North in the
1974 Benson & Hedges Cup. ==Later life==