The svelte Wayne James made four Test and 11 one-day appearances for Zimbabwe in the late 80s and early 90s as a stylish batsman and excellent fielder. He regularly kept wicket, and it was as a wicketkeeper that he made all four of his Test appearances between 1993-94 and 1994-95. But he failed to make any real impression, and with Andy Flower occupying the keeper-batsman role, James was only ever on the fringes of the side. He was no slouch with the bat, scoring 215 for Matabeleland in the Logan Cup, and it was in that tournament in 1995-96 that he set a world record with nine dismissals (seven caught, two stumped) in Mashonaland Country Districts' first innings, adding four more catches in the second (the match total of 13 was also a world record). Not content with that, he cracked 99 in the first innings, and was stranded on 99 not out in the second. To top it all, the winning runs were four byes.
Martin Williamson (April 2004)