When it came to the Hundred auction, it paid to be an all-rounder. Literally.
New Zealand women’s Sophie Devine went for £210,000, with England’s Danielle Gibson sold for a whopping £190,000.
In the men’s auction, meanwhile, Tom Curran was signed by MI London – formerly Oval Invincibles – for £260,000, joining younger brother Sam at that franchise.
However, the heftiest sum was the £390,000 London Spirit paid to bring uncapped Englishman James Coles, 21, to Lord’s, beating off competition from Sunrisers Leeds, Trent Rockets, Manchester Super Giants and Birmingham Phoenix before the gavel came down.
Here is the lowdown on the Sussex star, and why he commanded such a considerable fee…
Coles, who made his red-ball debut for Sussex as a 16-year-old, has scored eight first-class hundreds
Who is James Coles?
A right-handed batter and left-arm spin bowler, Coles made his first-class debut for Sussex against Surrey back in 2020 at the age of just 16, dismissing Rory Burns, Jamie Smith and Ben Foakes.
Since then, he has played 50 matches in the longer format, scoring almost 3,000 runs at an average of 38.42, including eight hundreds, and taking 57 wickets at 46.61.
In 2025, he passed 1,000 red-ball runs for the season, hitting four centuries and as many fifties, as well as contributing 20 wickets.
The Buckinghamshire-born player, who came through the Oxfordshire pathway, has been a key cog in Sussex’s T20 side in recent years and also turned out for Southern Brave in The Hundred in 2024 and 2025.
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Coles hits a match-winning 45 to take Sunrisers Eastern Cape into the 2026 SA20 final against Pretoria Capitals
Coles has excelled this winter, both for Sunrisers Eastern Cape in South Africa’s domestic SA20 competition – where his 161 runs and five wickets helped that side win the title – and then for England Lions against Pakistan Shaheens in Abu Dhabi.
His knocks for Sunrisers included a 19-ball 45 not out that took his team into the final, while he bagged figures of 4-18 for the Lions in the UAE during a T20 match.
‘Tough, talented, calm, adaptable’ – Coles full of assets
Sussex head coach Paul Farbrace on James Coles, speaking to Sky Sports’ Adam Williams:
“We are not surprised Colesy has been selected at a high amount – he is one of the best talents in English cricket and has just improved year on year. There was a greenness with his preparation and practice but that has got better.
“I have always thought he would play international cricket. It’s not just his performances on the field but the way he adapts to situations and copes with pressure.
“He wants to be in the thick of it, doesn’t hide from tough situations and is a genuine all-rounder.
Sussex head coach Paul Farbrace says Coles is a conventional player but that he does not lack flair either
“He can bat anywhere in the top five or six with real authority. He is a very stylish, skilful batter who stands tall at the crease, hits cleanly down the ground and over extra-cover. He is orthodox in many ways, yet has all the ramps and tricks that go with it.
“He is a conventional left-arm spinner with a very good change of pace. He can bowl with the new ball or in the middle and he can field anywhere. He is a brilliant fielder.
“In short-form cricket, you want players who can affect the game in different stages and he can do that. Plus, he is an intelligent young man who has worked the game out.
“He doesn’t get carried away, he is a very calm and laidback character and that really helps. His family and support network won’t let him get carried away.
“He had the potential to go to the IPL and could have been picked up in that but he chose to play in county cricket as he wants to play for England, so we also need to make sure his red-ball game is still developing.”
Coles bowls left-arm spin
The pundits’ view: Noise about Coles justified
Sky Sports Cricket’s Nasser Hussain: “There was a lot of noise about Coles before the auction – and quite rightly.
“If you have seen him in other franchise tournaments, as well as The Hundred last year, someone will sit at the back of a commentary box and say, ‘this lad can play’.
“I like his attitude – he looks tough, which you need to be – and I don’t think the figure will affect him.”
Dinesh Karthik, Sky Sports pundit and London Spirit batting coach: “We know the personality. He’s a very sorted kid, someone who doesn’t get too carried away or too frazzled.
“Yes, there is a high price, but at some point when you do well in life, you have to deal with it. think he is at a stage when he’s ready to deal with it. Everything will tell you his graph will only go up.”
Is Coles a potential England Test player this summer?
Could Coles play Test cricket for England this summer?
After England’s Ashes debacle over the winter, there could be changes to the side for this year’s home red-ball games. New Zealand visit in June, Pakistan follow in August and September.
Coles has made the No 4 spot his own at Sussex but with Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook and Ben Stokes likely to fill the middle-order berths for England, he could struggle to break in as a batter.
His best bet may be as the chief spinner as we know the hierarchy like a slow bowler who can also bat, evidenced by Will Jacks being preferred to Shoaib Bashir in Australia.
Jacks, Bashir, Rehan Ahmed, Coles’ county colleague Jack Carson, and Northamptonshire’s Calvin Harrison – a man Sky Sports’ Michael Atherton rates highly – are other potential spin options for England.
Coles may still be on their radar. He was certainly on a number of Hundred sides’ radar and earned a pretty penny because of it.
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