Former Canterbury cricketer Harley James jailed for child porn

Harley James, former Canterbury cricketer, has been jailed for child pornography. Photo / Supplied

A former Canterbury cricketer jailed for child pornography has dropped his bid for name suppression.

Harley Thomas George James, 39, was sentenced to two years, three months' imprisonment at Christchurch District Court after admitting charges of distributing objectionable images online of child sexual abuse.

The North Canterbury father and pharmacy technician, who played five first-class matches for Canterbury between 1997 and 2001, was caught in possession 3450 images.

The images showed sexual activity with children as young as 2 years old.

When he was sentenced last month, District Court judge Brian Callaghan lifted James' interim name suppression.

But his lawyer Andrew McCormick indicated it would be appealed to the High Court.

However, the appeal was abandoned and James can now be named.

James, who attended Rangiora High School, is well-known in Canterbury sporting circles.

He was a prolific teenage run-scorer and starred for Canterbury Country's Hawke Cup team.

After a 15-year absence from cricket, he played for Sefton in the Canterbury Country combined premier club cricket competition this year, often being a top performer with bat and ball.