 While studying at King Edward VI Aston in Birmingham James made his debut for the Warwickshire Second XI in September 2004, with whom he played for three seasons and competed in the 2005 Second XI Trophy.James then joined the Warwickshire First XI and represented the county in the 2006 C&G Trophy, though Warwickshire finished second to last in the table that season and thus did not progress to the second round of the competition.During the Spring of 2006, James also represented Staffordshire in the MCCA Trophy.