Raymond William George Emery (28 March 1915 – 18 December 1982) was a New Zealand

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er who played two

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...

s for

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

in 1952. He was also an officer in the

Royal New Zealand Air Force The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF; ) is the aerial warfare, aerial military service, service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed initially in 1923 as a branch of the New Zealand Army, being known as the New Zealand Perm ...

Life and career

Ray Emery attended

Takapuna Grammar School Takapuna Grammar School is a state coeducational secondary school located in the suburb of Belmont on the North Shore of Auckland, New Zealand. Established in 1927, the school mainly serves the eponymous suburb of Takapuna and the entire Dev ...

in Auckland. He played one match for

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

in 1936–37. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Emery joined the

and served in Britain, flying

Hurricanes A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...

with the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

after training in Canada. He remained in the Air Force after the war, attaining the rank of

squadron leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr or S/L) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Squadron leader is immediatel ...

. In 1947 he prepared a report on Australian civilian air traffic control utilising a rodoniscope, investigating its applicability to New Zealand. After three and a half years service in Britain, he returned to New Zealand and married Jean Millson at

St Mary's Cathedral, Auckland St Mary's Cathedral Church, also known as St Mary's Church or St Mary's-in-Holy Trinity, is an Anglicanism, Anglican Church (building), church located in Parnell Road, Parnell, New Zealand, Parnell, a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. The buildin ...

, in July 1945. 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. He moved to

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

in late 1947. Playing for

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

in 1950–51, he scored 240 runs at 30.00 in the

Plunket Shield New Zealand has had a domestic first-class cricket championship since the 1906–07 season. Since the 2009–10 season it has been known by its original name of the Plunket Shield. History The Plunket Shield competition was instigated in Octo ...

, including 110 against Wellington when he opened the batting for the first time and played the decisive innings in a low-scoring match. 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. At the time he was described as "one of the few New Zealand batsmen able to concentrate", batting "calmly, methodically, and capably". 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, and took the wickets of

Frank Worrell Sir Frank Mortimer Maglinne Worrell (1 August 1924 – 13 March 1967), sometimes referred to by his nickname of Tae, was a Barbadian West Indies cricketer and Jamaican senator. A stylish right-handed batsman and useful left-arm seam bowler, ...

and

Clyde Walcott Sir Clyde Leopold Walcott KA, GCM, OBE (17 January 1926 – 26 August 2006) was a West Indian cricketer. Walcott was a member of the "three W's", the other two being Everton Weekes and Frank Worrell: all were very successful batsmen from B ...

with his medium-pace bowling in the Second Test (2 for 52 off 46 balls), but otherwise had little impact. In the next two seasons he played four matches and scored only 80 runs. That was the end of his first-class career. In 1955 Emery returned to Auckland, where he was one of the leading figures in the establishment of

Auckland Airport Auckland Airport is an international airport serving Auckland, the most populous city of New Zealand. It is the largest and busiest airport in the country, with over 18.7 million passengers served in the year ended December 2024. The airpor ...

. One of the roads in the airport is named Ray Emery Drive after him. David Frith, ''Silence of the Heart'', Random House, London, 2011.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Emery, Ray 1915 births 1982 deaths People educated at Takapuna Grammar School Auckland cricketers Canterbury cricketers New Zealand Test cricketers New Zealand cricketers New Zealand military personnel of World War II Royal New Zealand Air Force personnel Military personnel from Auckland