William James Laidlay (12 August 1846 – 25 October 1912) was a Scottish first-class cricketer, barrister and artist. The son of John Watson Laidlay, he was born in August 1846 at Calcutta in British India. He was educated in Scotland at the Loretto School, before going up to Peterhouse, Cambridge, from where he graduated in 1872. A student of the Middle Temple, he was called to the bar in April 1875. In the same year that he was called to the bar, Laidlay made a single appearance in first-class cricket for the North in the North v South fixture at Chelsea. Batting twice in the match, he was dismissed for 11 runs by James Lillywhite in the North's first-innings, while in their second-innings he was dismissed for 3 runs by W. G. Grace. He took three wickets across the match, dismissing Grace