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 and represented New Zealand in the 1890s.[1]

Archie Ridley
Personal information
Full name
Archibald 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
Catches/stumpings 24/–
Source: Cricinfo, 31 October 2017

Personal life

edit

Born in Monmouthshire in 1869, Archie Ridley was one of nine children of the Rev. Morris Samuel Ridley.[2] He was educated in England and in New Zealand. He took up employment with Dalgety and Co. Ltd in Christchurch.[3] He later worked on his own in Christchurch as an insurance broker.[4]

Cricket career

edit

A middle-order batsman, 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.[5] 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".[6]

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.[7] 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.[8]

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.[9]

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".[10] In March 1900, after Ridley top-scored with 63 for Canterbury in a two-day match against the touring Melbourne Cricket Club,[11] the Australian Test cricketer Hugh Trumble said he was one of the best batsmen in New Zealand.[12]

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".[13] It was a record score for the competition until Carl Beal scored 242 not out in 1915.[14] A few weeks later Ridley made 82 (his highest first-class score) and 26 in Canterbury's victory over Wellington.[15]

References

edit
  1. ^ "Obituary: Mr. A. E. Ridley". Press: 6. 2 February 1950.
  2. ^ "Rev Morris Samuel Ridley". Ancestry. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  3. ^ "Canterbury Provincial District: Fire and Marine". The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [1903]. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  4. ^ "Professional". Press. Vol. LXXII, no. 21727. 9 March 1936. p. 1.
  5. ^ R.T. Brittenden, Great Days in New Zealand Cricket, A.H. & A.W. Reed, Wellington, 1958, p. 17.
  6. ^ "Otago v. Canterbury". Lyttelton Times: 5. 25 February 1895.
  7. ^ "New Zealand v Australia 1896-97". CricketArchive. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  8. ^ "New Zealand v Queensland 1896-97". CricketArchive. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  9. ^ "Canterbury v Otago 1897-98". CricketArchive. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  10. ^ Dan Reese, Was It All Cricket?, George Allen & Unwin, London, 1948, p. 35.
  11. ^ "Canterbury v Melbourne Cricket Club 1899-00". CricketArchive. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  12. ^ "New Zealand Cricket and Cricketers". Press. Vol. LVII, no. 10608. 20 March 1900. p. 3.
  13. ^ "Christchurch Notes". Otago Witness. No. 2853. 18 November 1908. p. 61.
  14. ^ "Cricket". Otago Witness. No. 3176. 27 January 1915. p. 51.
  15. ^ "Canterbury v Wellington 1908-09". CricketArchive. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
edit