During the 2011 English season, Foakes made his debut for Essex in a first-class match against the touring Sri Lankans at the County Ground, Chelmsford.

[6] Foakes found he was unable to force a regular place in the Essex first team, and on 14 August 2014, it was announced that he had joined Surrey County Cricket Club.

On 18 September 2023 Foakes signed a new multi-year contract extension at Surrey after becoming a very important member of the team since his arrival by contributing with his excellent wicketkeeping and very reliable batting.

[18] On 29 May 2020, Foakes was named in a 55-man group of players to begin training ahead of international fixtures starting in England following the COVID-19 pandemic.

[19][20] On 17 June 2020, Foakes was included in England's 30-man squad to start training behind closed doors for the Test series against the West Indies.

[27] He played as first-choice wicket-keeper in both 2022 home Test series against New Zealand and South Africa, making important contributions behind the stumps and with the bat.