He opened the batting for his province Northern Districts until 2004–05, and it is at the top of the order that he has had his major successes at first-class level since he made his debut in 1997–98.
With 126 Plunket Shield matches, he holds a record for most first-class appearances by a domestic player for a single province in New Zealand.
[1][2][3][4] But it was as a middle order player that he made his One Day International debut for New Zealand against Australia in February 2005.
When James made his Test debut, he had a batting average of 28.70, but he was picked on potential rather than his track record, the same as Hamish.
He and his brother Hamish became the second pair of twins (after Mark and Steve Waugh) to play Test cricket.