James Coles

James Coles became Sussex's youngest-ever first-class debutant, at the age of 16 years and 157 days, when he was handed an opportunity in the Bob Willis Trophy against Surrey at The Oval. He was still a teenager when he scored his maiden first-class hundred, and soon won recognition with England Lions. In 2025, he underpinned Sussex's batting on their return to Division One of the County Championship, notching four centuries on the way to passing 1000 runs in a season for the first time.

Coles is a product of Sussex's player development partnership with the Oxfordshire Cricket Board, and attended Magdalen College School in Oxford. On first-class debut, he dismissed Rory Burns, Ben Foakes and Jamie Smith to finish with match figures of 3 for 35, as well as making 21 runs from No. 6. He signed a professional deal early in the 2021 season, going on to make his List A debut in the Royal London Cup before receiving a call-up to England Under-19s for the home series against West Indies. He toured Sri Lanka that winter and was named in the squad for the Under-19 World Cup in the Caribbean.

His first senior hundred came against Glamorgan at Hove in 2023, and he added two more by the end of the season to cement a place in the side. An England Lions call came during the winter, with Coles making his debut in a four-day match against India A. The following summer saw him expand his T20 repertoire, helping Sussex to reach Blast Finals Day and being drafted as a wildcard for Southern Brave in the Hundred.
ESPNcricinfo staff