The Most Promising Young Male Cricketer

The Most Promising Young Male Cricketer of the Year Award

2025 Winner: James Coles (Sussex)

The Winners are decided by The Cricket Society Executive based upon a report provided by the Statistical Officer of The Cricket Society.

There were some outstanding performances by young male country cricketers in 2025. George Hill at Yorkshire, Asa Tribe and Ben Kellaway at Glamorgan and Rehan Ahmed at Leicestershire are just four of a fine pipeline of talent currently available in this country. However, for 2025 the Most Promising Young Male Cricketer of the Year Award has been awarded to James Coles of Sussex.

After a decade’s absence from Division One, Sussex went into 2025 with a point to prove. With four wins they deserved to retain their place for 2026. James Coles did much to contribute to this success by scoring 1,032 Championship runs at 46.90 including four centuries. At 21 years of age, he was never over-awed, and he also bowled several smart spells with his slow-left arm spinners taking 20 wickets at 33.25.

What made James’ contribution even more impressive was that he often had to come in earlier in the innings that he might wish, as the Sussex CCC top four did not contribute the level of runs expected. He also fielded very well in the slips taking several impressive catches. All in all, it was a highly impressive performance. 

James was away in Hong Kong developing his white ball cricket skills at the time of The Cricket Society’s Annual Awards Lunch at the Union Jack Club, London, on Thursday, 6th November. In his absence, Jon Filby, Chair of Sussex, accepted the award on James’ behalf.