James Baker (English cricketer)

James Bray Baker was an English cricketer who played from 1816 to 1828. He was born at Hailsham in Sussex and was mainly associated with Sussex cricket teams.
Baker played in 15 important matches, making his debut for Sussex against Epsom at Lord's in 1816. He played seven matches for Sussex, making his final appearance for them in 1828 against England. He played four matches for The Bs against England, and four for Kent, all as a given man against Sussex in 1825 and 1826 in matches organised by the Hawkhurst club, the first matches played between two county teams since the end of the Napoleonic Wars. Baker was a member of the Hawkhurst club, which had arguably one of the best village teams in England at the time. He scored a total of 219 runs in 27 innings with a batting average of 8.42 runs per innings.
Baker played for Sussex in two of the three roundarm trial matches against England in 1827 to decide whether roundarm bowling should be legalised. He was described as a "capital but not very safe hitter and a safe field" and was originally a farmer before becoming a publican in Hailsham later in life. He died in the village in January 1839.