Player Profile
George Balderson sprinkled a bit of magic on Lancashire’s pursuit of silverware in 2022. Those present at Chelmsford for the short and sharp Championship match against Essex in late September will have seen the all-rounder claim a superb 5-14 with his skilful seamers as the Red Rose successfully defended a target of 98.
It was a haul including a hat-trick, his victims being Sir Alastair Cook, Dan Lawrence and Matt Critchley.
Yes, it was a bowler-friendly pitch, and the victory inside two days ultimately didn’t mean anything in terms of the title race as Surrey beat Yorkshire at the Oval the following day. But what a performance it was from the highly-talented cricketer who continues to get better and better, as his performances in 2023 proved.
Before we get there, let’s stick with 2022 for a moment.
Balderson followed that Essex display up with a superb 97 from number seven in the order during the final week win against Surrey at Emirates Old Trafford, his best batting performance in 11 Championship appearances throughout the summer.
A month or so earlier, the Cheadle Hulme-born star had also hit a maiden first-team century - a superb 106 not out in a One-Day Cup defeat against champions to be Kent at Canterbury.
The former England Under 19s captain has impressed in both Championship and One-Day Cup cricket for the Red Rose, though he is yet to debut in the T20 Blast.
No doubt that is a goal for a versatile cricketer who has opened the batting and batted in the middle order during his first-team career as well as performing regularly when called upon with the ball.
If 2022 was his breakthrough year, Balderson, who bats left-handed and bowls right, kicked on impressively in 2023, winning the club’s Young Player of the Year award.
He hit 702 runs in 11 Championship appearances, including a pair of centuries against Warwickshire at Edgbaston and Northamptonshire at Wantage Road.
The first, in a draw, was a career best 116 not out. The latter, a first-innings 115, contributed to an innings victory.
He also added 23 wickets with a best of 4-69.
In the Metro Bank One-Day Cup, he hit 221 runs in eight matches added to 10 wickets.
Balderson captained England’s Under 19s through 2019 and into the 50-over World Cup in early 2020 when they beat Sri Lanka in the Plate final. That basically meant England were the best of the teams who failed to reach the quarter-finals.
He was promoted to open the batting in Lancashire’s Championship team in late 2021 following an injury to Keaton Jennings, and he hit two half-centuries in September, including 65 in the Bob Willis Trophy final defeat against Warwickshire at Lord’s.
Balderson, who plays his league cricket for Hyde having started at Cheadle Hulme, played age-group cricket for Cheshire before progressing through to second-team cricket with the Red Rose.
He signed his first professional contract at Old Trafford in 2018 and extended it for another three seasons in early 2022. He heads into the 2024 summer aged 23.
Balderson helped Lancashire win the Second XI T20 title in 2018, playing both games on Finals Day at Arundel. He has also captained the North in the ECB Super 4s, a competition for the most talented young players in the country.