James Cornford (cricketer, born 1978)

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James Michael Cornford (born 6 September 1978) is an English former cricketer from Crewe, Cheshire. He was a right-handed batsman and right-arm medium-fast bowler. He began in minor counties cricket with Cheshire (1999–2001), playing in the Minor Counties Championship and the MCCA Knockout Trophy. In Zimbabwe he played first-class cricket for Midlands during the 2001–02 Logan Cup, and also appeared for the Worcestershire Cricket Board in the 2002 MCCA Knockout Trophy. In first-class cricket, Cornford played five matches, scoring 314 runs at an average of 78.50, including three half-centuries with a top score of 98 not out. In List A cricket, he played two matches and scored 21 runs with a top score of 19.

The son of an antiques restorer, Cornford studied golf course and green management at Reaseheath College and later started a cricket equipment business with a £3,000 loan from The Prince’s Trust to make cricket bats. By 2000 his customers included Keith Semple and Muazam Ali, and by 2009 his company was supplying training aids to the England and Australia teams.