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]
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Archibald Ernest Ridley | ||||||||||||||
| Born | 22 September 1869 Chepstow, Monmouthshire, England | ||||||||||||||
| Died | 1 February 1950 (aged 80) Christchurch, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | ||||||||||||||
| Relations | Harry Ridley (brother) | ||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||
| 1889-90 to 1909-10 | Canterbury | ||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Source: Cricinfo, 31 October 2017 | |||||||||||||||
Personal life
editBorn 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
editA 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- ^ "Obituary: Mr. A. E. Ridley". Press: 6. 2 February 1950.
- ^ "Rev Morris Samuel Ridley". Ancestry. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
- ^ "Canterbury Provincial District: Fire and Marine". The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [1903]. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
- ^ "Professional". Press. Vol. LXXII, no. 21727. 9 March 1936. p. 1.
- ^ R.T. Brittenden, Great Days in New Zealand Cricket, A.H. & A.W. Reed, Wellington, 1958, p. 17.
- ^ "Otago v. Canterbury". Lyttelton Times: 5. 25 February 1895.
- ^ "New Zealand v Australia 1896-97". CricketArchive. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
- ^ "New Zealand v Queensland 1896-97". CricketArchive. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
- ^ "Canterbury v Otago 1897-98". CricketArchive. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
- ^ Dan Reese, Was It All Cricket?, George Allen & Unwin, London, 1948, p. 35.
- ^ "Canterbury v Melbourne Cricket Club 1899-00". CricketArchive. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
- ^ "New Zealand Cricket and Cricketers". Press. Vol. LVII, no. 10608. 20 March 1900. p. 3.
- ^ "Christchurch Notes". Otago Witness. No. 2853. 18 November 1908. p. 61.
- ^ "Cricket". Otago Witness. No. 3176. 27 January 1915. p. 51.
- ^ "Canterbury v Wellington 1908-09". CricketArchive. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
External links
edit- Archie Ridley at CricketArchive (subscription required)
- Archie Ridley at ESPNcricinfo