Steve James (cricketer)

Steve James
Personal information
Full name
Stephen Peter James
Born (1967-09-07) 7 September 1967 (age 57)
Lydney, Gloucestershire, England, UK
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm medium
International information
National side
Test debut18 June 1998 v South Africa
Last Test27 August 1998 v Sri Lanka
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1985–2003Glamorgan
1989–1990Cambridge University
1993–1995Mashonaland
Career statistics
Competition Test FC LA
Matches 2 245 238
Runs scored 71 15,890 7,040
Batting average 17.75 40.63 34.50
100s/50s 0/0 47/58 7/49
Top score 36 309* 135
Catches/stumpings 0/– 173/– 60/–
Source: Cricinfo, 11 July 2020

Stephen Peter James (born 7 September 1967) is an English journalist and former cricketer who played two Test matches for England in 1998,[1] making 71 runs in four innings.

James was captain of Glamorgan for three seasons before injury forced his retirement at the age of 36 in early 2004, after 17 seasons with the club.[2] He played a total of 245 first-class matches, making 15,890 runs at a batting average just above 40, with a total of 47 centuries and a highest score of 309 not out against Sussex in 2000 – which is the Glamorgan record highest score.[3] He scored more than 1,000 runs in a season nine times, with his two most prolific seasons following each other – 1,766 runs in 1996 was followed up with 1,775 runs in 1997, which led to his selection for the England A team before graduating to Test level the following season.

James also played two seasons of domestic cricket in Zimbabwe for Mashonaland in 1993/94 and 1994/95.

Since retirement, he has made a career as a journalist, initially covering cricket and rugby for The Sunday Telegraph and occasionally writing for The Daily Telegraph.[4] He was removed by the paper just before Christmas 2016,[5] and now writes for The Times.

  1. ^ Miller, Andrew (30 January 2019). "Late bloomers: Joe Denly joins England's list of 30-plus debutants". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  2. ^ Hampson, Andy (9 February 2004). "Glamorgan's James forced to retire by knee problem". The Independent. London. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
  3. ^ "The Home of CricketArchive".
  4. ^ "Steve James". 13 July 2020.
  5. ^ Downes, Steven (17 November 2016). "James 'shocked and devastated' to be axed". Sports Journalists' Association. London.