James career began with a meteoric rise to fame when he was called into the England squad for the tours to India and Sri Lanka in 2001/02 after just a handful of Championship appearances. An injury in 2002 forced him to miss much of the domestic campaign although he was able to continue his international involvement figuring in the Melbourne Test in December of that year. He returned to regular action in 2003 but was denied further international opportunities but after highly consistent performances in subsequent campaigns, his return to England colours finally arrived- belatedly- after the 2007 season when he was called into the England Lions squad as a replacement for the injured Steven Davies.

Widely acclaimed as one of the world’s top keepers, James represented England impressively in the World Twenty20 in 2009 but failed to win a further Test cap. Instead, he continued to prove a wicket-keeper of the highest order with the County whilst also contributing a wealth of runs from a middle-order position.

When Mark Pettini decided to stand down from the captaincy during the 2010 season, James was a natural successor adding the extra responsibilities without impacting on his effective wicket-keeping and batting ability.

Awarded a Benefit in 2011, he continued to flourish topping the Essex batting averages with 931 Championship runs whilst also heading the CB40 batting averages with 211 runs at 70.33.