Wisden overview
Had the financial reward of cricket been greater, Chris Balderstone would probably have given less of the prime years of his athletic life to football, which he played professionally for Huddersfield, Carlisle, Doncaster and Queen of the South, and as a result might have won more than his two Test caps. He was unlucky to be picked for England against one of the most fearsome attacks in Test history – the 1976 West Indians. He was a brave, sound, dependable batsman with the ability to concentrate for long periods, and a key member of the strong Leicestershire side in the 1970s. He was also an excellent fielder whose one catch in Test cricket was a brilliant diving effort following an unexpected lapse. A flighty, left-arm spinner, who could be relied on to take wickets on a turning pitch, he was shrewdly used by Ray Illingworth, whom he followed to Leicestershire from his native Yorkshire in 1971. Balderstone was a model professional, dedicated and untemperamental, and in 1985, at the age of 44, he collected a Benson and Hedges Cup-winners medal as well as scoring over 1200 runs. On September 15, 1975, he had played Championship cricket until 6.30pm, then kicked off for Doncaster Rovers at 7.30 the same evening. He became a first-class umpire in 1988, but sadly died in March 2000, at the age of 59. Christopher Martin-Jenkins Adapted by Wisden from World Cricketers: A Biographical Dictionary (Oxford, 1996).

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd