Steve James (cricketer)
Steve James | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 7, 1967 England |
| Occupation(s) | Cricketer, journalist |
| Years active | 1985–2004 (cricket) |
| Known for | Glamorgan captain, England Test cricketer, cricket journalist |
Stephen Peter James (born 7 September 1967) is a former English cricketer who has since established himself as a journalist.
Over the course of 17 seasons, James represented Glamorgan County Cricket Club, captaining the side during his final three years before an injury led to his retirement in 2004 at the age of 36.
In his first-class career, he featured in 245 matches, amassing 15,890 runs and achieving 47 centuries with a batting average of 40.63. His unbeaten 309 against Sussex in 2000 stands as the highest individual score ever recorded for Glamorgan.
James exceeded the milestone of 1,000 runs in nine different seasons, with standout tallies of 1,766 runs in 1996 and 1,775 in 1997. These performances earned him a place on the England A tour to East Africa and Sri Lanka during the winter. The following year, he progressed to the senior England squad, participating in two Test matches and accumulating 71 runs over four innings.
As Glamorgan's captain, he guided the team to victory in Division Two of the 2001 Norwich Union League and subsequently clinched the Division One championship in 2002.
In addition to his career in England, James also played domestically for Mashonaland in Zimbabwe during the 1993/94 and 1994/95 seasons.
Following his retirement from professional cricket, James embarked on a career in journalism. He initially reported on cricket and rugby for The Sunday Telegraph and contributed occasionally to The Daily Telegraph. After leaving that publication at the end of 2016, he began writing for The Times.
Rugby career
Between the 1985/86 and 1995/96 seasons, James played as a full back for Lydney R.F.C., scoring a total of 140 points including 31 tries over the course of 81 appearances.
Books
- Third Man to Fatty's Leg: An Autobiography (2004), First Stone Publishing
- The Plan: How Fletcher and Flower Transformed English Cricket (2012), Bantam Press
- The Art of Centuries (2015), Bantam Press
- Hoult, Nick & James, Steve, Morgan's Men: The Inside Story of England's Rise from Cricket World Cup Humiliation to Glory (2020), Allen & Unwin