Edward Balfour (cricketer)

Edward Balfour (2 January 1833 – 11 August 1856) was an English first-class cricketer.

The son of Charles Balfour, he was born at Marylebone in January 1833. He was educated at Westminster School, before going up to Christ Church, Oxford.^[1] While studying at Oxford, he made his debut in first-class cricket for Oxford University against the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) at Oxford in 1852. Balfour played first-class cricket for Oxford until 1854, making nine appearances.^[2] Playing as an all-rounder, he scored 152 runs for Oxford at an average of 11.69 and a high score of 62.^[3] With his roundarm slow bowling, he took 35 wickets for Oxford, taking five wickets in an innings on three occasions and taking ten wickets in a match once.^[4] In addition to playing for Oxford, Balfour also played first-class cricket for the MCC on seven occasions in 1853–54,^[2] scoring 129 runs with a high score of 36.^[3] His best batting return came for the Gentlemen of England, for whom he made five first-class appearances from 1852–54,^[2] scoring 185 runs at an average of 23.12.^[3] Balfour's other first-class appearances included three each for England and the Gentlemen in the Gentlemen v Players, in addition to one match for the Gentlemen of Marylebone Cricket Club.^[2]

His father, a merchant, had business at Genoa in the Kingdom of Sardinia with his company Grants, Balfour & Co. Balfour joined his father in Genoa in 1856, where he died in August "after a few days' illness".^[5][6] His brothers, Robert and Archibald, both played first-class cricket.