The Athletic\u00a0has launched a Cricket WhatsApp Channel. Click\u00a0here\u00a0to join.<\/em><\/p>\n James Coles is adamant. \u201cI always want to play for Sussex,\u201d he says. \u201cAs long as the cricket carries on being this good there\u2019s no doubt I\u2019ll stay. I love it here and we\u2019re in a great spot.\u201d<\/p>\n It is a reassuring answer for Sussex supporters to a pertinent question over the future of one of the most exciting and sought-after emerging talents in English cricket.<\/p>\n The decision of the ECB to punish the county heavily for the financial mismanagement that led to a loss of \u00a31.3million ($1.8m) in the last financial year \u2014 docking them 12 County Championship points alongside other measures \u2014 has left a dark cloud hanging over Hove despite the brightest of starts to the season.<\/p>\n Coach Paul Farbrace has already announced he will step down at the end of the year. The break-up of one of the best young sides in the country at the end of this campaign looks inevitable.<\/p>\n But Coles, perhaps the brightest Sussex star, is going nowhere. \u201cI just can\u2019t see myself leaving unless things really change,\u201d Coles tells The Athletic<\/em>. \u201cWe\u2019ve had all the talks about what the situation means to us as players and now we\u2019re laser-focused on doing as well as we can as a side, which should help with the financial situation.<\/p>\n \u201cI always like the idea of leaving a legacy wherever I play and want to do so at the place where I became the county\u2019s youngest player. I love living in Hove, I\u2019ve got a lot of friends in the area and my parents come down regularly and call it home now too. I\u2019ll be staying as long as I can.\u201d<\/p>\n \n James Coles registered his first half century of the new season against Yorkshire (Gareth Copley\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n But there is something that will<\/em> take Coles away from Hove regularly \u2014 the England recognition that is sure to come his way, perhaps as early as this summer.<\/p>\n Coles, 22, has been highly regarded within cricket ever since he became Sussex\u2019s youngest ever first-class debutant six years ago, at the age of 16 years and 157 days, after arriving at Hove as part of a development partnership with Oxfordshire.<\/p>\n But his name was brought to a much wider audience earlier this year when he was bought in The Hundred auction by London Spirit for a jaw-dropping \u00a3390,000, an enormous amount for a right-handed batter and left-arm spinner who is yet to play for his country.<\/p>\n Now Coles has gone some way to quashing any fears that the price tag and extra attention will adversely affect his game with two stylish contributions against Yorkshire at Headingley, making 47 and, on Monday, 53 as Sussex added a draw to their two opening victories.<\/p>\n Coles also made a notable contribution with the ball, taking three second-innings wickets while bowling 30 overs. Watching on was one of the best there is in former England captain and record Test run-scorer Joe Root, playing his first game of the season. He will have been impressed with what he witnessed first-hand.<\/p>\n So who is Coles and why is he now so highly regarded in both red and white-ball cricket that he has become both an England Test candidate and a much sought-after franchise player? The Athletic<\/em> spoke to Coles and those closest to him to find out.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re absolutely awful watchers,\u201d says Jon Coles from his seat in the crowd, this time at Headingley, as he and his wife, Julie, watch their son play.<\/p>\n \u201cBut this has been a good match to watch. It was nice for James to get to 50 although he feels he\u2019s missed out. It can\u2019t be too bad to feel like that when you score 100 runs in the game. And it was good for him to bowl to Joe Root. He will learn from that.<\/p>\n \u201cBut we get so nervous. I don\u2019t think there\u2019s anything more stressful in life than watching your son play professionally. I was having a word with Jack Carson\u2019s (the Sussex spinner) dad and he felt exactly the same way.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen a batter goes out there he can make one mistake and he\u2019s gone. As a spin bowler, the first over can go out of the ground. But we concluded the boys generally do all right and cope with it all a lot better than we do.\u201d<\/p>\n \n James Coles took three wickets in Yorkshire\u2019s first innings at Headingley (Gareth Copley\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Coles Snr has not only been instrumental in his son\u2019s development, but remains an important influence in his career, advising on all the big decisions alongside trusted agent Jonny Hughes. Like the one that ensured he was watching his son playing at Headingley rather than somewhere much warmer and more frenetic.<\/p>\n \u201cJames loves red-ball cricket and made the conscious decision not to go in the IPL auction so he could play these six games of Championship cricket for Sussex at the start of the season,\u201d says Jon. \u201cHe would have had to put himself forward in December when he was pretty much unknown so he may not have been picked up.<\/p>\n \u201cBut if he had put his name on the list I\u2019m pretty sure he would have been signed up as an injury replacement. I just think this is the right decision at his age because I\u2019m not sure sitting around at the IPL would have been good for him at this time of his career. And he started to find his touch in this game against Yorkshire. The IPL is a conversation for next year depending on how things go.\u201d<\/p>\n Farbrace had no doubts about Coles\u2019 quality as soon as he became Sussex coach ahead of the 2023 season. \u201cI didn\u2019t know him at all and he got a hundred in a second-team game at Hove at the end of April against Kent. Tawanda Muyeye (the Kent batter) also got a century and the two of them were so far ahead of everybody else on the field. So we put Colesey in the first team the following week and he\u2019s been there ever since.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s very stylish, he\u2019s got all the shots, he\u2019s very elegant in the way he plays and there\u2019s nothing he can\u2019t do. He\u2019s a timer of the ball, but when he needs sheer power he\u2019s got that as well. He really is a modern cricketer who has the ability to score all around the pitch \u2014 but he\u2019s got a good solid technique.<\/p>\n \u201cSome players score quickly because they have the attitude of getting their runs before the bowler gets them out, but James can be happy to bat half an hour without scoring because he backs his technique, knows where his off stump is, and is a very good judge of line and length. You watch him and think: \u2018This bloke\u2019s got so much time\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n \n James Coles is confident in his own technique (Warren Little\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Coles is a consistent scorer at first-class level and made 1,032 First Division Championship runs last year. But it was the shrewd decision to try his luck in the South African T20 league with Sunrisers Eastern Cape last winter, instead of further England Lions recognition, that proved pivotal to his rise.<\/p>\n \u201cI went to the T10 in Abu Dhabi but didn\u2019t do well and, frankly, left there feeling out of my depth,\u201d says Coles. \u201cSo I knew I had to work hard before I got to South Africa.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I got there the Sunrisers team was immense. I watched them in the nets thinking: \u2018Jeez, these guys are proper. I need to buck my ideas up or I might not get a game\u2019. Luckily Adrian Birrell (the Sunrisers\u2019 coach) gave me heaps of confidence and it went from there.\u201d<\/p>\n Coles\u2019 good friend and Sussex team-mate Carson tells an illuminating story about a conversation the pair had on the phone during those early days in South Africa when Coles had yet to break into the Sunrisers side.<\/p>\n \u201cI know him well but that chat really opened my eyes,\u201d Carson tells The Athletic<\/em>. \u201cJames wasn\u2019t in the team at first so I reached out to him to make sure he was okay. He said straightaway: \u2018I can\u2019t believe I\u2019m not in this team.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cSo I looked at the Sunrisers and they\u2019ve got Jonny Bairstow, Quinton de Kock, Marco Jansen, Tristan Stubbs and lots more. It was a star-studded team but James felt he should be in it. When he did get in, he was player of the match in his first game.<\/p>\n \u201cThat resonated with me. It\u2019s not arrogance or anything like that. But he\u2019s got a lot of self-confidence. It was inspiring to see someone continue his trajectory so quickly and go about it in the right way.\u201d<\/p>\n \n James Coles\u2019 white-ball experience includes time with Southern Brave in The Hundred (Dan Istitene\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The SA20 is one of the better franchise tournaments, so the youngster\u2019s achievements were eye-catching.<\/p>\n Coles made 61 off 34 balls in that first match and finished the tournament with 152 runs at an average of 38 and, more impressively, a strike-rate of 170.79 as Sunrisers won the title.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s been level-headed about where best to further his career and, always, it\u2019s been cricket decisions over financial ones,\u201d says Jon. \u201cFor anyone in life, that\u2019s not always easy because you never know what\u2019s round the corner. But everything is about the long-term and, so far, so good. Going to South Africa was certainly a good decision.\u201d<\/p>\n As was, in hindsight, Coles\u2019 time in the T10 tournament even though he felt out of his depth. It was there that he played under Andy Flower and made such an impression that the former England coach splashed out that huge sum to take him to London Spirit for The Hundred this summer.<\/p>\n It was the word Flower used when explaining the Spirit\u2019s decision to devote so much of their budget on the talented youngster that caught the eye. He called Coles \u201ccurious\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve always been good at listening to people and processing the information they give me without saying too much,\u201d says Coles. \u201cBut as I\u2019ve got older and more confident I\u2019ve started asking more questions to people like Andy Flower, who is one of the best there is.<\/p>\n \u201cI would say I\u2019m curious especially when I\u2019m in an environment where I\u2019m playing with some of the world\u2019s best. I\u2019d be a fool not to ask questions.\u201d<\/p>\n Then, after success in South Africa, came that Hundred auction. Coles watched it alone in his flat at Hove, at first nervously when it took a while for his lot to gain attention \u2014 but then emotionally as five clubs entered a bidding war which ended with London Spirit on top.<\/p>\n \n London Spirit coach Andy Flower was convinced by James Coles\u2019 talent to push for his signing for The Hundred (Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Jon was watching on TV as the sum his son was going to earn went up and up.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought: \u2018Gosh\u2019, to put it politely,\u201d says Jon, a good club bowler and a regular tourist with MCC in his playing days, and now often to be found at \u2018Dexter\u2019s Terrace\u2019 \u2014 the homely and charming family viewing area at Hove where The Athletic<\/em> was invited to watch Sussex\u2019s opening home victory against Warwickshire.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was just surreal. And it was so nice that a number of teams were bidding. I think others would have gone for him, too, if they had got their hands up before he burst their budgets. There was so much genuine interest, which was lovely.\u201d<\/p>\n The size of the prize quickly sunk in. \u201cThe bidding started stalling at \u00a3150,000 and I said to him afterwards: \u2018Did you think that would be it?\u2019,\u201d says Farbrace. \u201cAnd he said: \u2018No, I was always hoping for a bit more than that\u2019. Then it got to \u00a3390,000 and he was in floods of tears because he realised what a big amount of money that was.\u201d<\/p>\n Coles looks back on the momentous event with perspective.<\/p>\n \u201cMy life hasn\u2019t changed,\u201d he smiles. \u201cBut being able to call Lord\u2019s home is really exciting.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not sure what I feel about what I\u2019m earning being in the public domain. That\u2019s a bit alien, but that\u2019s how it is. It was a pretty cool experience. Certainly it was cool by the end! But there\u2019s been no splashing out on a new car or anything. I haven\u2019t got the money yet!<\/p>\n \u201cUltimately everybody knows me now. In pre-season everyone was congratulating me, but I know there will be a target on my back. I do think I\u2019ve been on the back burner in terms of the media before now, but I\u2019m sure that\u2019s going to change.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve just been quietly cracking on and trying to get my fundamentals right so now I\u2019m in a place where hopefully I can deal with the pressure. I don\u2019t want to count my chickens but I think I\u2019ve got enough experience behind me so I\u2019m ready for what\u2019s to come.\u201d<\/p>\n \n James Coles\u2019 left-arm spin is another string to his bow (Mike Hewitt\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n That looks sure to be international cricket.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are people who love practising but, when it comes to the games, it\u2019s tough for them. Then there are people who are fine playing in front of 200 people but struggle when there are 30,000 watching them,\u201d says Farbrace. \u201cColesey is one who thrives on the big stage. He loves the big occasion.<\/p>\n \u201cNot to show off and do things that get him noticed. It just turns him on and he gets excited about the big game. He wants to play against the best players and against the best teams in the best stadiums, and when you\u2019ve got that attitude and mindset, you\u2019re already a long way down the route of playing international cricket.<\/p>\n \u201cHe wants to be under the high ball when the opposition need four to win and he wants to bowl the last or first over. He wants to be there at the end of the innings and that\u2019s the temperament that sets him apart from others.\u201d<\/p>\n That call may even come this summer if England do what they did during the Ashes, when they picked Will Jacks, and select a batter who bowls spin as a second suit as their slow-bowling option for the Test series against New Zealand in June.<\/p>\n The new Moeen Ali perhaps? \u201cThat would be the dream,\u201d says Coles. \u201cI definitely need to do more with my bowling. I\u2019ve sat down and thought about it and I know my way into the England side could be by adding value with the ball. Red-ball bowling could enable me to play Test cricket so I\u2019m trying hard to spend time on my bowling.\u201d<\/p>\n He has used his time wisely up to now and, with the help of those around him, will continue to plot the right route to where he wants to go.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t worry about him as a person now,\u201d adds Jon. \u201cI listen to him talking to the likes of Nasser Hussain and Mike Atherton on their podcast and he comes across so well. I wouldn\u2019t be able to do that! I hope he just stays level-headed and gets to be a 22-year-old at times as well.<\/p>\n \u201cHis challenges will be when form eludes him and if injury strikes because he wouldn\u2019t be very good sitting on the sidelines \u2014 that I do know. Hopefully he\u2019ll avoid those things and keep chugging along.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"James](\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2026\/04\/27101905\/GettyImages-2273363499-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"James](\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2026\/04\/27101919\/GettyImages-2273208172-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"James](\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2026\/04\/27104236\/GettyImages-2223075691-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"James](\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2026\/04\/27101933\/GettyImages-2231140502-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"London](\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2026\/04\/27112042\/JPR39121-3055935-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"James](\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2026\/04\/27115652\/GettyImages-2270707758-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n