James Coles targets England debut after 'spotlight' of Hundred price-tag

Coles, the 22-year-old Sussex allrounder, became the most expensive player at the inaugural Hundred auction in March when London Spirit won a five-way bidding war for his services. His fee owed in part to the dynamics of the auction, with few English spin-bowling allrounders available, as well as his performances at the SA20 immediately before it.

But while his left-arm spin was relatively successful, he started the Hundred with scores of 1, 2, 2 and 0, all in defeats. London Spirit were effectively out by the time he made 30 not out, 9 not out and 29 in his final three innings and finished the season seventh, with only Birmingham Phoenix below them.

"I think the price tag obviously gave me a bit more spotlight," Coles told Cricinfo at the Toyota PCA Awards this month. "I haven't done as well as I wanted to in the Hundred, with the bat especially.

"With the ball, I think I've almost exceeded expectations - I've been one of the most effective bowlers at London Spirit - but with the bat, I probably didn't capitalise on my opportunities. But everyone says you want to do everything that you normally do when you get these things, so I'm not looking into it too much."

Coles said that his eye-catching salary had followed him around throughout the summer: "Pretty much every interview, that's what gets talked about - and I copped it [some flak] a bit on the field here and there. It's just natural… It's been a great exposure to copping it a bit from the media, and how to deal with it, so it's been good."

More immediately, Coles will fly to Pakistan with England's ODI squad on Thursday for the start of a busy winter. He is effectively the spare batter in their squad for their upcoming tri-series against the hosts and Sri Lanka, and while Jacob Bethell will replace him for the subsequent ODIs in Australia, Coles has been included for the T20I leg of that tour.

He was part of three England white-ball squads this summer without making his debut, and was recently awarded an ECB development contract. Marcus North, the national selector, hinted this week that he is in England's thoughts for their Test tour to Bangladesh in February, and Coles was pleased with how his bowling progressed this summer.

He took 27 wickets at 29.14 in the County Championship, playing as one of two spinners alongside Jack Carson. His contributions helped Sussex finish third in Division One despite a relatively quiet year with the bat, with his 224 of his 694 runs coming in a single innings against Glamorgan.

On the prospect of travelling to Bangladesh, he added: "My bowling suits the subcontinent quite a lot, but my way to get myself in the mix initially is through playing well in the English summer, so there was a lot more focus on overspin, a bit more mid-crease bowling… and I've come to realise the importance of my fielders more, rather than bowling a magic ball to get a wicket."

He also has franchise contracts with MI Emirates (ILT20) and Sunrisers Eastern Cape (SA20) this winter, and intends to put himself forward for the IPL auction later this year. But in signing his development contract, which doubles as a commitment to his availability for Lions tours when called upon, Coles has made clear that playing for England is his primary ambition.

"It's a pretty surreal experience getting the call from Northy," he said. "I was chuffed, filled with joy. It's a dream come true. It would've been good to get a go, but it's a ridiculous team to get into at the minute, so I'll wait my turn… I know what I've got to work on this winter. I'm pretty clear on what I want to improve on, and how I'm going to make myself a better player."