Ray Emery (cricketer)

Raymond William George Emery (28 March 1915 – 18 December 1982) was a New Zealand cricketer who played two Tests for New Zealand in 1952. He was also an officer in the Royal New Zealand Air Force.

Ray Emery
Ray Emery, Hurricane pilot, 1942
Personal information
Full name
Raymond William George Emery
Born(1915-03-28)28 March 1915
Auckland, New Zealand
Died18 December 1982(1982-12-18) (aged 67)
Auckland, New Zealand
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm medium
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 55)8 February 1952 v West Indies
Last Test15 February 1952 v West Indies
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1936–37 to 1946–47Auckland
1947–48 to 1953–54Canterbury
Career statistics
Competition Test First-class
Matches 2 24
Runs scored 46 1177
Batting average 11.50 29.42
100s/50s 0/0 3/5
Top score 28 123
Balls bowled 46 1790
Wickets 2 22
Bowling average 26.00 34.27
5 wickets in innings 0 0
10 wickets in match 0 0
Best bowling 2/52 4/41
Catches/stumpings 0/– 10/–
Source: Cricinfo, 1 April 2017

Life and career

Ray Emery attended Takapuna Grammar School in Auckland.[1] He played one match for Auckland in 1936–37.

During the Second World War Emery joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force and served in Britain, flying Hurricanes with the Royal Air Force after training in Canada.[2][3] He remained in the Air Force after the war, attaining the rank of squadron leader.[4] In 1947 he prepared a report on Australian civilian air traffic control utilising a rodoniscope, investigating its applicability to New Zealand.[5]

After three and a half years service in Britain, he returned to New Zealand and married Jean Millson at St Mary's Cathedral, Auckland, in July 1945.[6]

He played nine matches for Auckland from 1943–44 to 1947–48 without establishing himself in the side. Batting in the middle order, he scored 110 against Otago in 1945–46, and 123 against Wellington in 1946–47, but those were the only innings in which he reached 30.[7]

He moved to Christchurch in late 1947. Playing for Canterbury in 1950–51, he scored 240 runs at 30.00 in the Plunket Shield, including 110 against Wellington when he opened the batting for the first time and played the decisive innings in a low-scoring match.[8] In 1951–52, still opening the batting, he made 433 runs at 72.16 in the Plunket Shield, with four 50s, and topped the national averages.[9] At the time he was described as "one of the few New Zealand batsmen able to concentrate", batting "calmly, methodically, and capably".[10] He and Gordon Leggat (346 runs at 57.66) formed a strong opening pair that helped Canterbury win the Plunket Shield.

Although he was nearly 37, he was selected for both Tests against the touring West Indies at the end of the 1951–52 season. He made 28 in an opening partnership of 44 with Geoff Rabone in the second innings of the First Test,[11] and took the wickets of Frank Worrell and Clyde Walcott with his medium-pace bowling in the Second Test (2 for 52 off 46 balls),[12] but otherwise had little impact.[13]

In the next two seasons he played four matches and scored only 80 runs. That was the end of his first-class career.[7]

In 1955 Emery returned to Auckland,[14] where he was one of the leading figures in the establishment of Auckland Airport.[15] One of the roads in the airport is named Ray Emery Drive after him.[16]

See also

References
  1. "College Cricket: Takapuna Grammar". Auckland Star: 15. 26 April 1933.
  2. "Raymond William George Emery". Auckland Museum. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  3. "Hurricane Pilot". The New Zealand Herald: 2. 16 March 1942.
  4. "Reserve of Air Force officers" (PDF). The New Zealand Gazette: 706. 1961.
  5. "Raymond William George Emery papers". MOTAT. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  6. "Service wedding". The New Zealand Herald: 4. 11 July 1945.
  7. "First-class Batting and Fielding in Each Season by Ray Emery". CricketArchive. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  8. "Wellington v Canterbury 1950–51". CricketArchive. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  9. 1951–52 batting averages
  10. "Sportsman of the Week". Press: 2. 8 December 1951.
  11. "1st Test, Christchurch, February 08-12, 1952, West Indies tour of New Zealand". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  12. "2nd Test, Auckland, February 15-19, 1952, West Indies tour of New Zealand". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  13. Wisden 1953, pp. 837–41.
  14. "Departure of Emery". Press: 5. 9 February 1955.
  15. Francis Payne & Ian Smith, eds, 2021 New Zealand Cricket Almanack, Upstart Press, Takapuna, 2021, p. 26.
  16. David Frith, Silence of the Heart, Random House, London, 2011.
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