Arthur William Ridley (11 September 1852 – 10 August 1916) was an English

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

er. Ridley was a right-handed

batsman In cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the ball with a bat to score runs and prevent the loss of one's wicket. Any player who is currently batting is, since September 2021, officially referred to as a batter (historically, the ...

who bowled right-arm

underarm The axilla (also, armpit, underarm or oxter) is the area on the human body directly under the shoulder joint. It includes the axillary space, an anatomical space within the shoulder girdle between the arm and the thoracic cage, bounded superiorl ...

medium pace. He also played occasionally as a

wicket-keeper The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being watchful of the batsman and ready to take a catch, stump the batsman out and run out a batsman when occasion arises. Th ...

.Carlaw D (2020) ''Kent County Cricketers A to Z. Part One: 1806–1914'' (revised edition), pp. 468–469.
Available online
at the

Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians The Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians (ACS) was founded in England in 1973 for the purpose of researching and collating information about the history and statistics of cricket. Originally called the Association of Cricket Stati ...

. Retrieved 2020-12-21.) Ridley was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

, where he represented the college cricket team from 1870 to 1872, and at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

. Ridley made his first-class debut for

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

in 1872 against the

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...

. He represented the university in 18 first-class matches from 1872 to 1875, with his final match against

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...

. In his 18 matches for the University Ridley scored 459 runs at a batting average of 18.36, with two half centuries and a highest score of 81 against the

Gentlemen of England Cricket, and hence English amateur cricket, probably began in England during the medieval period but the earliest known reference concerns the game being played c.1550 by children on a plot of land at the Royal Grammar School, Guildford, Surrey ...

in 1874. With the ball Ridley took 63 wickets at a

bowling average In cricket, a player's bowling average is the number of runs they have conceded per wicket taken. The lower the bowling average is, the better the bowler is performing. It is one of a number of statistics used to compare bowlers, commonly use ...

of 13.31, with three

five wicket haul In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five–for" or "fifer") occurs when a bowler takes five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded by critics as a notable achievement, equivalent to a century from a batsman. Taking ...

s and best figures of 6/80 against the Marylebone Cricket Club. In the field he took 23

catches Catch may refer to: In sports * Catch (game), children's game * Catch (baseball), a maneuver in baseball * Catch (cricket), a mode of dismissal in cricket * Catch or reception (gridiron football) * Catch, part of a rowing stroke In music * Cat ...

for the university. Ridley captained the university in 1875. He was a cricket

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obs ...

in each of his four years in the university team. In 1873 Ridley played his first match for the Gentlemen in the

Gentlemen v Players Gentlemen v Players was a long-running series of English first-class cricket matches. Two matches were played in 1806, but the fixture was not played again until 1819. It became an annual event, usually played at least twice each season, exc ...

match. Ridley would go on to play in 14 of the fixtures up to 1883. In his 14 matches he scored 491 runs at an average of 24.55, with three half-centuries and a single century, 103 in the 1876 fixture. With the ball Ridley took 19 wickets at an average of 27.63, with best figures of 4/41. Ridley took 14 catches for the Gentlemen in the field. In 1875 Ridley made his debut for

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

against

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

. Ridley played for Hampshire in 10 first-class matches, with his final first-class match against the Marylebone Cricket Club in 1878. In 10 appearances for Hampshire, Ridley scored 558 runs at an average of 29.36, with three half-centuries and a single century, 104 against Kent in 1876. With the ball he took 68 wickets at an average of 13.26, with ten five-wicket hauls, four

ten-wicket haul In cricket, a ten-wicket haul occurs when a bowler takes ten wickets in either a single innings or across both innings of a two-innings match. The phrase ten wickets in a match is also used. Taking ten wickets in a match at Lord's earns the bowle ...

s in a match and best figures of 7/46 against

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

in 1877. In the field he took 4 catches for the county. Ridley also made his debut for the Marylebone Cricket Club against

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

. Ridley played 14 first-class matches for MCC, with his final appearance in 1882 against Cambridge University. In his 14 MCC matches Ridley scored 329 runs at an average of 13.16, with a highest score of 47. With the ball he took 21 wickets at an average of 11.09, with three five-wicket hauls, a single ten-wicket haul in a match and best figures of 6/45 against Oxford University. While playing for Hampshire, Ridley also represented

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

in a single first-class match against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1877. In 1882 Ridley made his debut for

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

against

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

. He played 16 first-class matches for the county from 1882 to 1885, with his final match against

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

. In 16 matches for Middlesex, Ridley scored 527 runs at an average of 20.26, with two half centuries and a single century, 136 against Surrey in 1883. With the ball Ridley took 7 wickets at an average of 25.85, with best figures of 2-21. As well as representing the above teams in first-class cricket, Ridley also represented the

in 5 first-class matches, with a highest score of 105 *. Ridley also played for AW Ridley's XI, England, Gentlemen of Marylebone Cricket Club,

I Zingari I Zingari (from dialectalized Italian , meaning "the Gypsies"; corresponding to standard Italian ') are English and Australian amateur cricket clubs, founded in 1845 and 1888 respectively. It is the oldest and perhaps the most famous of the 'wa ...

, the Orleans Club, South of England and the Under 30s team in first-class matches. In Ridley's overall first-class career he scored 3,150 runs at an average of 20.19, with 11 half-centuries, four centuries and a highest score of 136. With the ball he took 224 wickets at an impressive

of 15.06, with 19 five-wicket hauls, four ten-wicket hauls in a match and best figures of 7/21. In the field Ridley took 79 catches and made 2

stumping Stumped is a method of dismissing a batsman in cricket, which involves the wicket-keeper putting down the wicket while the batsman is out of his ground. (The batsman leaves his ground when he has moved down the pitch beyond the popping crease ...

s. Ridley died suddenly at

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

on 10 August 1916.

Family

Son of the Reverend Nicholas James Ridley (1821-1888), on 9 February 1882 in Kensington he married Adriana Elizabeth (1854-1910), known as Ada, the daughter of Francis Rodes Newton and his Danish wife Anna Louisa, daughter of Major Jacob Heitmann Gyllich, Knight of the Dannebrog. They had five children. The eldest daughter, Vera Emily Ridley (1885-1966), married

Bertram Francis Gurdon, 2nd Baron Cranworth Bertram Francis Gurdon, 2nd Baron Cranworth KG, MC (13 June 1877 – 4 January 1964) was a British peer and soldier. Gurdon was the eldest son of Robert Gurdon, 1st Baron Cranworth and was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge. He was comm ...

in 1903 and the second daughter Marcia Emma Ridley (1889-1930) in 1911 married Philip John Sherwin Pearson Gregory.http://www.thepeerage.com/p8438 citing Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003. retrieved 15 October 2015 Ridley's brother Alfred Ridley and son-in-law Philip Pearson-Gregory both played first-class cricket.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ridley, Arthur 1852 births 1916 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford English cricketers Gentlemen cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Hampshire cricketers Kent cricketers North v South cricketers Middlesex cricketers Oxford University cricketers I Zingari cricketers Gentlemen of the South cricketers Orleans Club cricketers Gentlemen of England cricketers A. W. Ridley's XI cricketers Gentlemen of Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Over 30s v Under 30s cricketers Non-international England cricketers People from Highclere Cricketers from Hampshire