James Brayshaw

James Antony Brayshaw was born on May 11, 1967, in Subiaco, Western Australia. Following in his father’s footsteps, Brayshaw embarked on a career in domestic cricket, playing for both Western Australia and South Australia. He was known for his solid batting, achieving a first-class batting average of 42.53 over a career spanning almost a decade. During his cricketing career, he secured two Sheffield Shield titles: one with Western Australia in the 1987-88 season and another with South Australia in the 1995-96 season. He retired from cricket at 30 years old to pursue opportunities in media.

Brayshaw began his media career with the Seven Network in Adelaide, initially as a sports reporter for ‘Seven Nightly News’ and appearing on local football discussion programs like ‘Footy Plus’. His early success included co-hosting SAFM’s breakfast show in Adelaide starting in 1998, which quickly rose to become a number-one rated program. In 2001, after hosting Seven’s coverage of the Ashes, he moved to the Nine Network, where he became a regular commentator for AFL and cricket. His roles at Nine expanded, leading to him co-hosting ‘Any Given Sunday’ in 2005 and, most notably, ‘The AFL Footy Show’ from 2006 to 2016 alongside Garry Lyon. Parallel to his television work, Brayshaw joined Triple M radio in 2002, contributing as a commentator for AFL coverage and co-hosting the breakfast show ‘The Cage’.

Beyond his broadcasting commitments, Brayshaw took on significant administrative roles in Australian sport. He was appointed chairman of the North Melbourne Football Club in 2007, a position he held until 2016, and was made a life member of the club in 2022. Additionally, he served as chairman of the Melbourne Renegades cricket team from 2011 to 2015. After leaving Nine in 2016, Brayshaw returned to the Seven Network in 2018 as an AFL commentator and later expanded his role to host and commentate for Seven Sport’s Test cricket and Big Bash League coverage. He continues to co-host ‘The Rush Hour’ on Triple M Melbourne and calls Saturday afternoon football for the station.