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
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]
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]