Cricket Legend Shares Secret to James Colsell’s Game-Shifting Bat Flip!
Dinesh Karthik said London Spirit went all out for James Coles at The Hundred auction because of his rare all-round skill set. The 21-year-old was signed for £390,000 after a bidding war between five teams, with Karthik backing the Sussex youngster to handle the price tag and emerge as a future prospect for England.
NEW DELHI: Dinesh Karthik, the mentor and batting coach of the London Spirit men's team for the 2026 season of The Hundred, described uncapped England all-rounder James Coles as possessing "rare" skill sets, which is why he attracted so much interest during the auction. The 21-year-old was roped in by London Spirit for a whopping £390,000 after a fierce bidding war between five franchises. "First up with the bat, I think for the first time he is able to bat anywhere between 4, 5 and 6.
At times he has been very good at 3 as well, so we have definitely looked at that aspect. He is a gun left-hander, someone involved in the powerplay and someone who has shown incredible skills with the ball. The fact that not too many of those skill sets exist in the UK tempted us to go strongly towards him," said Karthik after the auction.
Coles was part of the England squad for the 2022 U-19 World Cup and was recently included in the England Lions squad for the tour of Australia in January 2025. He made his county debut as a 16 year old at Sussex County Cricket Club, where he became the club's youngest ever debutant in 2020. In the County Championship last season, he scored 1,032 runs, including four centuries, at an average of 47 and added 20 wickets, while also proving to be a safe pair of hands with 19 catches, most of them at second slip, a position in which he has excelled.
Coles' record in the T20 Blast last season was equally impressive. He scored 397 runs at an average of 33 and took 10 wickets at an economy rate of just over nine. But it was in the SA20 where the talented youngster caught everyone's attention.