Archie Ridley

Archibald Ernest Ridley (22 September 1869 – 1 February 1950) was a New Zealand cricketer who played first-class cricket for Canterbury from 1890 to 1910.

Archie Ridley
Personal information
Full nameArchibald Ernest Ridley
Born(1869-09-22)22 September 1869
Chepstow, Monmouthshire, England
Died1 February 1950(1950-02-01) (aged 80)
Christchurch, New Zealand
BattingRight-handed
RelationsHarry Ridley (brother)
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1889-90 to 1909-10Canterbury
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 25
Runs scored 859
Batting average 21.47
100s/50s 0/3
Top score 82
Balls bowled 0
Wickets –
Bowling average –
5 wickets in innings –
10 wickets in match –
Best bowling –
Catches/stumpings 24/–
Source: Cricinfo, 31 October 2017

Personal life

Born in Monmouthshire in 1869, Archie Ridley was one of nine children of the Rev. Morris Samuel Ridley.[1] He was educated in England and in New Zealand. He took up employment with Dalgety and Co. Ltd in Christchurch.[2] He later worked on his own in Christchurch as an insurance broker.[3]

Cricket career

A middle-order batsman, Archie Ridley played several seasons for Canterbury in the early 1890s with only moderate success. However, he was "Canterbury’s outstanding outfield of the day", who took many spectacular catches.[4] In the match against Otago in 1894-95, his running one-handed catch on the boundary was described by the Lyttelton Times as "the most sensational deep-field catch ever made in Christchurch".[5]

He was selected to play for a New Zealand XV against the touring Australians early in the 1896-97 season, making 23 (the top score) and 20 in a loss for New Zealand.[6] A few weeks later he played a first-class match for New Zealand against the visiting Queensland team, which New Zealand won. He scored 9 and 30.[7]

In the match against Otago in 1897-98 Canterbury needed 155 to win and were 70 for five before Ridley, 76 not out, took Canterbury to a four-wicket victory helped by the lower-order batsmen. His was the highest score in the match; only two other batsmen had reached 30.[8]

He was not selected in New Zealand’s team to tour Australia in 1898-99. Dan Reese, who toured in the team, said of the team selection that "the greatest mistake [was] the omission of Archie Ridley of Canterbury".[9] In March 1900, after Ridley top-scored with 63 for Canterbury in a two-day match against the touring Melbourne Cricket Club,[10] the Australian Test cricketer Hugh Trumble said he was one of the best batsmen in New Zealand.[11]

In November 1908, playing for his club Linwood in the Christchurch competition, Ridley scored 217 not out in three and a half hours in a total of 402, playing strokes “brilliantly yet neatly all round the wicket, his cutting and gliding being a treat”.[12] It was a record score for the competition until Carl Beal scored 242 not out in 1915.[13] A few weeks later Ridley made 82 (his highest first-class score) and 26 in Canterbury’s victory over Wellington.[14]

References
  1. "Rev Morris Samuel Ridley". Ancestry. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  2. "Canterbury Provincial District: Fire and Marine". The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [1903]. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  3. "Professional". Press. LXXII (21727). 9 March 1936. p. 1.
  4. R.T. Brittenden, Great Days in New Zealand Cricket, A.H. & A.W. Reed, Wellington, 1958, p. 17.
  5. "Otago v. Canterbury". Lyttelton Times: 5. 25 February 1895.
  6. "New Zealand v Australia 1896-97". CricketArchive. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  7. "New Zealand v Queensland 1896-97". CricketArchive. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  8. "Canterbury v Otago 1897-98". CricketArchive. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  9. Dan Reese, Was It All Cricket?, George Allen & Unwin, London, 1948, p. 35.
  10. "Canterbury v Melbourne Cricket Club 1899-00". CricketArchive. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  11. "New Zealand Cricket and Cricketers". Press. LVII (10608). 20 March 1900. p. 3.
  12. "Christchurch Notes". Otago Witness (2853). 18 November 1908. p. 61.
  13. "Cricket". Otago Witness (3176). 27 January 1915. p. 51.
  14. "Canterbury v Wellington 1908-09". CricketArchive. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
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