"I love living here. I can’t see myself leaving Hove unless things really change.”
03.04.26, 05:00 Updated 03.04.26, 12:30 3 Minute Read
Paul Weaver
Leicestershire’s rather utilitarian Uptonsteel County Ground at Grace Road is an unlikely stage for stardom.
But when James Coles steps on the field today, for Sussex’s opening Rothesay County Championship match of the season, it will be a hugely significant moment for him.
Because today is the first day of the rest of his life. Last season Coles was another county player. Now he is England’s uncapped celebrity cricketer, propelled to the stratosphere - like Nasa’s moon rocket Artemis II – by the £390,000 paid by the Lord’s based London Spirit in last month’s Hundred auction.
It was a life changing moment as he became the most valuable player in the auction and the fourth-highest paid player in the tournament, behind Harry Brook, Sussex player Jofra Archer and former Sussex player Phil Salt.
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