Thomas Balston (30 January 1822 – 23 December 1899) was an English first-class cricketer and barrister.
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Thomas Balston | ||||||||||||||
| Born | 30 January 1822 Maidstone, Kent, England | ||||||||||||||
| Died | 23 December 1899(1899-12-23) (aged 77) Hollingbourne, Kent, England | ||||||||||||||
| Batting | Unknown | ||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||
| 1851 | Marylebone Cricket Club | ||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Source: Cricinfo, 23 June 2021 | |||||||||||||||
The seventh son of William Balston, he was born at Maidstone in January 1822.[1] The Balston family had been paper-makers since the 18th century, entering business with the Whatman paper-making family. Their success in business led to social prominence and the Balstons were regarded as being amongst the gentry of their county.[2][3] Balston died at his residence at Hollingbourne in December 1899, following a protracted illness.[4]
He was educated at Rugby School,[5] before going up to Brasenose College, Oxford.[6] A student of the Inner Temple in April 1845, he was called to the bar to practice as a barrister in June 1848.[1]
Balston played first-class cricket for the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), making a single appearance against Cambridge University at Lord's in 1851.[7] Batting twice in the match, he made a duck in the MCC first innings and scored 2 runs in their second innings, being dismissed by David Buchanan and John Weston respectively.[8]