Batsman Dean Jones was contemplating going off "retired ill" after vomiting at the crease and Border suggested that "a tough Queenslander" (Ritchie) could hack the conditions instead.
[citation needed] Ritchie made his first class debut in 1980–81, playing for Queensland against Victoria.
[3][4] He then made 74 against South Australia[5][6] and an innings of 75 against the touring Indians saw him discussed as a potential future test player.
[20] The leading batsmen on the tour were Kim Hughes, Allan Border, Bruce Laird, John Dyson and Graeme Wood.
[21] 59 against the Pakistan Cricket Board XI impressed and Ritchie was picked to make his test debut.
[38] He was unable to force his way into the Australian test or one day sides, and was overlooked for selection on the tour to Sri Lanka.
I'm more confident and I think my approach to the game is more mature... Now I put more value on my wicket and try to make the bowlers work hard for it.
[62] He was put on stand-by for the third test as a possible back up for Allan Border, who was injured – but in the end he managed to play.
[69] Ritchie also batted in the famous 1984/85 Sheffield Shield final, narrowly lost by Queensland against New South Wales.
[74] "Ritchie is Australia's greatest liability in the field, whether in a catching position or in the deep", said one reporter.
[76] Ritchie redeemed himself in the second test, his first innings score of 94 helping lay the platform for an Australian victory.
However Ritchie was one of the few Australians to show fight – his second innings score of 20 off 102 balls almost helped Australia save the game.
[85] At the end of the tour, Allan Border said that Ritchie and Craig McDermott were the only players who could be really happy with their performances.
[93][94] However he injured himself moving timber at his Brisbane home and was unable to play in the second test; his place was taken by Steve Waugh.
[95] Ritchie was initially picked in Australia's one day squad over the summer and scored a match winning 68 against New Zealand.
[101] Ritchie batted well in the first test, scoring 92 and taking part in a 213 run partnership with Greg Matthews.
[108][109] In the one day series that followed, Ritchie took part in a 90-ball 100 run partnership with Greg Matthews in the final game.
[110] Ritchie then went to Sharjah for a short tour by an Australian team led by Ray Bright.
[127][128] Ritchie was then left out of the Australian one day side[129] and was made 12th man for the fourth test so Australia could play an extra bowler.
[131]) Ritchie was picked in the squad for the fifth test and asked Allan Border if he could open with Geoff Marsh.
[142] Ritchie was involved in an incident on a domestic flight on the way to playing WA for the Sheffield Shield final when then-Queensland-teammate Ian Botham assaulted a fellow passenger.
[147] In 1988-89 Ritchie was appointed Queensland vice captain, and led the side on a number of occasions.
"[151] Allan Border stood down as Queensland captain at the beginning of the 1989/90 season in favour of Ritchie.
[155][156] Ritchie enjoyed a lot of success with the bat making 928 first class runs at an average of 54.
[158] Moves were made to get Ritchie to come back to the side by new coach Jeff Thomson and QCA chief executive Barry Richards.
[165][166] In 1997, Ritchie was involved in a homophobic incident with Ansett Australia staff before and during a flight which he was subsequently removed from.
He was forced to publicly apologise for the incident and is believed to have lost his regular media appearances on the Nine Network.
The former cricketer was detained by the US Department of Homeland Security after a drunken incident on board a flight to Florida to visit then girlfriend Rachel Hetherington.
Despite being arrested for 'inappropriate behaviour' and detained for suspicion of interference with crew which was a Federal Offence, he was let off with a warning and not prevented from entering the country in the future.
In 2012, Ritchie caused controversy over racist and Islamophobic comments at a luncheon during the First Test between Australia and South Africa at the Adelaide Oval;[167] after South African team officials complained (the team contained four Muslim and two black African players), Ritchie was effectively banned by Cricket Australia from functions for the rest of the 2012–13 season.