Born in Worksop, on Boxing Day 1998, Lyndon Wallace James initially grew up in Retford before moving to Bottesford aged 10 and has played cricket for almost as long as he can remember. He represented Notts in the ECB Under-13s competition in 2012 and has moved up through the age groups to the Nottinghamshire Academy where he is one of the most highly-rated prospects.
James was one of the young players selected in 2018 to appear at Trent Bridge against a touring Aboriginal XI led by Notts Outlaws captain Dan Christian to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the first Australian visiting team – a touring side of aboriginal cricketers that came to England in 1868. He already had some experience of Australian cricket; in 2017 he flew out to Sydney to play club cricket, along with fellow Academy players Chris Gibson and Tom Keast.
Lyndon James wasted no time in announcing himself as a First-Class cricketer on his Notts debut. A genuine all-rounder, batting and bowling right-handed, it was James' bowling which took centre stage in his first appearance, taking 3-54 against Essex, including India Test mainstay Murali Vijay.
James went on to spend much of his 2019 season captaining the Nottinghamshire Second XI, leading a side which on occasion included the likes of Alex Hales, Joe Clarke, Chris Nash and Ben Duckett. James skippered the seconds to their T20 finals day showpiece at Arundel, where they would ultimately bow out at the semi-final stage to Glamorgan.
The right-hander also made his first breakthrough into the senior limited-overs setup in 2019, making his List-A debut for the Outlaws against Worcestershire Rapids at New Road.
He did not play First XI cricket in the truncated 2020 season but at the start of the 2021 County Championship, James played in the first five games, making two half-centuries - including a career-best 79no against Durham - and producing his best spell with the ball, taking 4-51 in the win against Essex. A back injury meant he was not able to bowl in the 2022 season but he more than made up for that with 860 championship runs at 52.35 including three centuries, the best of which was 164no against Durham.
Lyndon was back among the wickets in 2023, taking 28 in the Championship (average 32.57 and best of 6-74) and a further eight in List-A games.
November 2023
Nottinghamshire First-Class Number: 651
See Lyndon James's career stats (to date) here