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As the number next to his name kept on climbing, James Coles could scarcely believe his eyes. It was the middle of March and the uncapped Sussex all-rounder was sat watching the inaugural Hundred auction and quickly learning just how highly he was valued. A furious bidding war had erupted between five franchises; by the time it ended, Coles was £390,000 richer, the day’s big-ticket item and the new face of the London Spirit.

James Coles is firmly on England's radar after a breakthrough 12 months (Getty)

Not bad for a lad not yet 22 who had earned not even 10 per cent of that sum in last year’s competition. “I think that’s probably the moment in my career where I’ve gone, ‘wow’,” a clear-eyed Coles tells The Independent as he settles in at Lord’s and to new egg-and-bacon accented colours. “I felt majorly valued; like I’d made it, in a sense. It was a pretty surreal experience.”

The very concept of being bid upon feels a uniquely cricketing experience in this day and age, but Coles at least had the requisite support network around him to steady again a wise head on young shoulders. A few friends offered distraction; father Jon and his agent direction; Sussex’s T20 captain Tymal Mills a close, kindred confidante. Mills, of course, had been through this sort of strange experience himself, pocketing more than £1m from the IPL in 2017.

“I was pretty emotional through the day,” Coles admits. “I had some good support around me, and a nice day with some friends. I leant on T [Mills] quite a lot, actually, through the start of the season. There are the initial added pressures, or it felt like there were at the start of the year, and he had obviously been through it because of his massive payday at the IPL. He was really supportive.”

So why did Andy Flower, Mo Bobat and the rest of the Spirit brains-trust splash out on a cricketer who, at the time, had yet to receive an England call? Well, with Coles, the talent has long been obvious. An all-action, all-format cricketer with orthodox stylings, the 22-year-old can bat anywhere in the top six and bowl across the phases, varying his pace well with his improving left-arm spin. Particularly strong through the leg-side, one back foot blast back over the head of Sean Abbott at the Oval drew comparisons with Virat Kohli; an unbeaten red-ball hundred against Glamorgan showed an appetite for runs poked further by a slightly lean start to the County Championship season.

Colleagues speak of a calmness and focus, the former always present, the latter perhaps developed more and more of late. It feels, of course, as if Coles has already been around for ages. It is six years now since he became Sussex’s youngest first-class debutant as one of three 16-year-olds used in the Covid-blighted county summer, with a struggling club trusting in youth to build back to brighter days. The turbulent times may be back at Hove as financial mismanagement threatens to squander a special group but, spearheaded by Coles, Henry Crocombe, Jack Carson and co., Paul Farbrace’s side are County Championship contenders.

James Coles made his Sussex debut at the age of 16 (Getty)

“I think people sometimes do forget [that I’m only 22], which is fine because I’ve played more cricket than most 27-year-olds,” Coles, who will have Crocombe and Mills for company in the Spirit dressing room, explains. “I can’t really use being inexperienced as an excuse because I’ve played a lot of cricket. I guess there is stuff away from the field where you maybe don’t get as much relief because I’m still quite a young lad, you know.

“But I don’t want any extra credit because I’m younger. I’ve played more than 150 games – I’m probably a seasoned pro, which is pretty crazy to say! Sussex did it perfectly for us young lads. At the time, it didn’t look great because we weren’t winning much, but by the time all of us had turned 18, we’d played 50 professional games. People wonder why we’re being successful now – we’ve got such a tight-knit group that have all grown up playing with each other.”

That Archie Lenham, another of those 16-year-olds who made such an eye-catching start to his senior career, is for now out of professional cricket speaks to the volatility and vagaries inherent within short-format cricket particularly. Coles, though, has been well guided through his journey, taking what he describes as “calculated calls” over each step even as the cricket kaleidoscope has begun to spin. He is building partnerships of a different kind, too – his bat in the Hundred this summer will bear the logo of the Six Nations, which is partnering with emerging cricketers in acknowledgment of the close links between the two sports.

James Coles represented the Southern Brave in last year's Hundred (Getty)

“It is a different kind of collaboration but there is a very natural connection between rugby and cricket fans. You often hear about professional players reaching a crossroad in their career where they had to pick one of the other to focus on. Having played rugby throughout school, and being a huge fan of the Guinness Men’s Six Nations since a youngster, the partnership allows me to reconnect with the sport in a different way, so I am looking forward to my part to play in extending that to the fans.”

James Coles is one of the brightest talents in English cricket (Getty)

Coles forwent a possible chance to tour Australia with the England Lions in the winter to instead accept an opportunity in the SA20 with Sunrisers Eastern Cape. It proved a valuable gamble; monetarily, yes, but also in developing the skills that earned him a first international call-up this summer. “I’ve got a really good support network around me with my agent and my dad to help make some pretty good decisions for me that have definitely benefitted me in the long run. They’ve always put me first.’ His ambition extends across three formats – with the Test team seeking a new all-rounder, Coles is perfectly prepared to be a jack of all trades, master of some.

“I want to play for England for as long as possible. That’s always been the dream. I’ve prided myself on always putting the team first – I’ll do whatever it takes, really.”

Sussex and London Spirit's James Coles has partnered with the Guinness Six Nations ahead of The Hundred (Six Nations)

For the first time, Six Nations Rugby will partner with emerging cricketers, beginning with bat sponsorship during the Hundred and developing into a year-round programme designed to bring rugby and cricket audiences closer together. 41 per cent of rugby fans are also cricket fans, and 62 per cent of cricket fans also follow rugby thanks to overlapping values, the unique experience they offer and the sporting entertainment they deliver.