Raymond Harvey was an Australian former first-class cricketer who played for Victoria in the 1940s and 1950s.
51 Facts About Ray Harvey
1.
2.
Ray Harvey was the brother of Australian Test batsmen Merv and Neil and first-class cricketer and umpire Mick Harvey.
3.
Ray Harvey was an attacking and talented batsman but failed to reach international standards and only managed to hold down a regular position in the Victorian team in two seasons in the 1950s.
4.
Ray Harvey's father was a keen amateur cricketer and an instilled a love of the game in his six sons, all of whom played for Fitzroy in Victorian Premier Cricket.
5.
Ray Harvey scored two centuries and five half centuries against full strength teams from other states and was rewarded with selection in Lindsay Hassett's testimonial match, which was effectively a Test trial match.
6.
Ray Harvey ended the season with 699 runs at a batting average of 49.92.
7.
At the start of the following season, Ray Harvey was included in an Australian XI for a match against the touring England cricket team for a Test trial match.
8.
Ray Harvey shone mainly for Fitzroy in Victorian Premier Cricket, scoring 19 centuries and 9,146 runs in first-grade competition, both of which are still club records.
9.
Ray Harvey himself played for the Rita Social Club after moving to Fitzroy, while his wife kept score.
10.
Much of the batting skill displayed by the Ray Harvey brothers has been attributed to these games played on the unpredictable bounce of the bumpy laneway.
11.
All of the Ray Harvey brothers were recipients were of this medal.
12.
In 1948, Ray Harvey was selected at short stop in the 1948 All-Australian baseball team.
13.
Ray Harvey continued to play for Fitzroy over the next two decades when he was not required by Victoria.
14.
Victoria ended with 331 and the Ray Harvey brothers had scored almost half the runs.
15.
Merv and Ray Harvey ended unbeaten on 12 and 22 respectively.
16.
Ray Harvey bowled eight overs for the season, conceding 32 runs without taking a wicket.
17.
Merv dropped after this match, and Ray Harvey made 9 and 15 alongside Neil in the next fixture against New South Wales, a six-wicket win.
18.
Ray Harvey played in the next match against Tasmania with none of his brothers alongside him, as Neil was again busy with the national team.
19.
Ray Harvey made two in his only innings in a ten-wicket win.
20.
Ray Harvey ended his debut first-class season with 190 runs at a batting average of 21.11 with a best score of 48.
21.
Ray Harvey was selected for a Second XI match against New South Wales but failed to make an impact, scoring two runs in each innings as the Victorians completed a 195-run win.
22.
Ray Harvey was only selected for the two first class matches against Tasmania, was even less successful.
23.
Ray Harvey ended the first class season with 9 runs at 3.00.
24.
Ray Harvey made only 28 in the first match, an innings win over Western Australia.
25.
Ray Harvey then made 18 as his team collapsed for 101 to lose by an innings.
26.
Ray Harvey was then dropped for the next three matches, as the Test players, including his younger brother Neil, returned.
27.
Ray Harvey was immediately dropped again when the Test players returned, before being recalled for the away match against Queensland when the national representatives were again unavailable.
28.
Ray Harvey ended the season with 195 runs at 24.37; he reached 14 in all but one of his eight innings but was unable to convert his starts into large scores, with a highest innings of 47.
29.
Ray Harvey did so despite the fact that there were no Tests scheduled for the Australian season, meaning that the international representatives would be available for all of Victoria's matches.
30.
Ray Harvey followed this with 2 and 91 in the next match against New South Wales over the Christmas holiday period.
31.
Ray Harvey made only 10 in the second innings but his state completed a 290-run win nonetheless.
32.
Ray Harvey was then rewarded with selection in a testimonial match for retiring Australian captain Lindsay Hassett.
33.
Typically, such matches involved the best players in Australia divided into two teams, and Ray Harvey played for Arthur Morris's XI against Hassett's outfit.
34.
Ray Harvey scored 69 and 17 as his team completed a 121-run win.
35.
Ray Harvey bowled three overs in total, but was unsuccessful, conceding 27 runs as the opposition batsmen attacked him.
36.
Ray Harvey then made 50 and 19 in a drawn match again Queensland.
37.
Ray Harvey played a key part in Victoria's win over New South Wales away at the SCG.
38.
Ray Harvey's run-scoring tapered away in the last two matches of the season; he made 74 runs in three innings in the match.
39.
However, the match was curtailed by rain and Ray Harvey was not able to exhibit his talents on a sticky wicket highly difficult for batting.
40.
Ray Harvey made only 21 in the first innings and was unbeaten on 17 when time ran out in the second innings.
41.
Ray Harvey was retained for the match against South Australia the following week and scored 97 in an innings win.
42.
Ray Harvey made 86 in the first innings but managed only 6 in the second before being removed by Benaud, as the Victorians ended 37 runs short of victory with five wickets in hand when time ran out.
43.
Ray Harvey made six in his only innings in the last match of the season against Queensland.
44.
Ray Harvey ended the season with 233 runs at 46.60.
45.
Ray Harvey dismissed the top-scorer John Lill for 176 and his other victims were Michael Clingly and Peter Trethewey.
46.
Ray Harvey made 1 and 9, and conceded 26 runs from three wicketless overs, and was dropped, having made only 133 runs at 16.62 for the season.
47.
Ray Harvey ended his first-grade career with 19 centuries and 9,146 runs at an average of 36.15 from 247 matches.
48.
Ray Harvey was an attacking and free-flowing batsman but he was not a prolific scorer, which was attributed by observers to a lack of single-mindedness required to succeed at the top level.
49.
Neil said that Ray Harvey's footwork was suspect and that the stronger bowlers in domestic cricket were able to exploit this.
50.
Neil said that if Ray Harvey had been able to rectify his weakness, then he could have become a Test player for Australia.
51.
Australian captain Bill Lawry said that Ray Harvey was one of the two best district cricketers he had faced.