McCorkell never played Test cricket for England, largely due to the concurrent careers of the Kent wicket-keeping duo Les Ames and Godfrey Evans.
His first-class career came to an end in 1951, with McCorkell emigrating to South Africa to take up an appointment as a coach in Parktown Boys' High School in Johannesburg.
[2] Hampshire deliberated whether to bring him onto their staff, as at the time they were £3,000 in debt; ultimately they chose to in 1931,[3] earmarking him as a replacement for George Brown.
[2] He again passed 1,000 runs for the season in 1936,[6] and was a contender for selection for the 1936–37 Ashes tour to Australia following a back injury to regular wicket-keeper Les Ames.
[6] During the Second World War, McCorkell had hoped to serve as a submariner with the Royal Navy, but was refused when it transpired that he could not swim.
[6] He suffered a broken finger in 1948, which limited him to just fourteen matches,[4] before making his highest run-scoring aggregate in 1949, with 1,871 runs across the season at an average of 38.18.
[6] In the proceeding two seasons he passed 1,000 runs,[6] and in the 1951 County Championship he made his career-high score, with a double-century (203) against Gloucestershire at Gloucester.
[10] The Times speculated that had it not been for the Kent wicket-keeping duo of Ames and Godfrey Evans, McCorkell might have had a successful career in Test cricket.
[3] Moving to South Africa with his wife and two sons, he was appointed cricket coach at Parktown Boys' High School in Johannesburg, where he worked for thirty years.