Ray Emery

Who was Ray Emery?

Raymond William George Emery played two Tests for New Zealand in 1952.

Ray Emery played one match for Auckland in 1936-37, then nine matches 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 transferred to Canterbury for 1950-51, making 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. In 1951-52 he made 433 runs at 72.16 in the Plunket Shield, with four 50s, and topped the national averages. He and Gordon Leggat 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 team 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 and Clyde Walcott with his medium-pace bowling in the Second Test, but otherwise had little impact.