Lalor was born in Bendigo, Victoria and attended University of Melbourne.
[1] Lalor retired as The Australian's chief cricket writer in February 2024.
He has written biographies on Phillip Hughes and Ron Barassi, Australian murderer Katherine Knight, the history of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and beer.
He is a member of the Chappell Foundation Board that raises funds for youth homelessness in Australia.
[4] In February 2025, Lalor was sacked by radio station SEN for his social media posts about the Gaza genocide, with CEO Craig Hutchinson claiming that his posts "made Jewish people in Melbourne feel unsafe".