{{Short description|Irish sportsman (1938–2020)}} {{for|the New Zealand cricketer|Raymond Hunter (New Zealand cricketer)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}} {{Infobox cricketer | name = Raymond Hunter | image = | caption = | birth_date = {{birth date|1938|4|3|df=yes}} | birth_place = Belfast, Northern Ireland | death_date = {{death date and age|2020|12|9|1938|4|3|df=yes}} | batting = Right-handed | bowling = Right-arm medium | columns = 1 | column1 = First-class | matches1 = 11 | runs1 = 202 | bat avg1 = 11.22 | 100s/50s1 = 0/0 | top score1 = 39 | deliveries1 = 996 | wickets1 = 19 | bowl avg1 = 23.42 | fivefor1 = 1 | tenfor1 = 0 | best bowling1 = 5/22 | catches/stumpings1= 11/– | international = true | country = Ireland | source = http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Players/26/26785/26785.html CricketArchive | date = 15 November | year = 2022 }}
'''William Raymond Hunter''' (3 April 1938 – 9 December 2020) was a Northern Irish cricketer and rugby union player.<ref name="CAP">[http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Players/26/26785/26785.html Cricket Archive profile]</ref> He played for Ireland in both sports. In cricket he won 28 international caps and played in 11 first-class matches. In rugby he played ten times for Ireland in the Five Nations, scoring one try. He also played for the British and Irish Lions.<ref>{{cite book |last=Booth |first=Lawrence |date=2021 |title=Wisden Cricketers' Almanack |page=252 |publisher=Bloomsbury USA |isbn=9781472975478}}</ref>
== Early life == Raymond Hunter was born in Belfast on 3 April 1938. He attended Wallace High School in Lisburn and played international hockey and football for the Ireland schoolboys teams. After leaving school he worked in insurance.<ref name=ce>{{cite web |last1=Liddle |first1=Edward |title=Raymond Hunter - Ireland's last cricket and rugby international has died |url=https://www.cricketeurope.com/DATABASE/ARTICLES2020/articles/000013/001368.shtml |publisher=Cricket Europe |access-date=10 December 2020 |archive-date=9 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201209204258/https://www.cricketeurope.com/DATABASE/ARTICLES2020/articles/000013/001368.shtml |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==Cricket== Hunter played cricket, using his {{convert|6|ft|m}} height to his advantage as a right-handed batsman and right-arm medium pace bowler.<ref name="CAP" /><ref name=ce/> His rugby training also served him well in the field where his speed made him an excellent cover point.<ref name=ce/> Hunter played junior-level cricket at Dunmurry.<ref name=ce/>
Hunter started his club cricket career with Lisburn Cricket Club at the age of 17 and won the Senior Cup Final in his first season. In 1957 his score of 133 helped Lisburn win the NCU Challenge Cup and remains one of the best individual scores in the final of the competition.<ref name=ce/> Hunter moved to Lurgan Cricket Club in the 1960s. He was top scorer for Lurgan in the 1972 Senior Challenge Cup Final, giving the club their first win in the competition.<ref name=port/>
===International career=== Hunter played 28 times for the Ireland cricket team between 1957 and 1967<ref name="CESZP">[http://www.cricketeurope4.net/CSTATZ/irelandall/ire135.htm CricketEurope Stats Zone profile]</ref> including eleven first-class matches.<ref name="FCM"> [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Players/26/26785/First-Class_Matches.html First-class matches played by Raymond Hunter at Cricket Archive]</ref> Hunter made his debut for Ireland against the Free Foresters in August 1957. He scored 74 not out in the only Irish innings, his highest score for Ireland. He played two matches against New Zealand in July 1958,<ref name="CESZP" /> before making his first-class debut against Scotland later that month.<ref name="FCM" /> He finished the year with matches against Worcestershire and the MCC.<ref name="CESZP" />
He played four times for Ireland in 1959; against Scotland, Lancashire, Leicestershire and the MCC. He played just once in 1960, against Leicestershire. He played four times in 1961, including two internationals against Australia. In a match that year against the MCC, he took 5/22 in the MCC first innings, his best bowling performance for Ireland.<ref name="CESZP" />
He then spent almost two years out of the Ireland side, returning for two matches against the West Indies in June 1963. He remained a semi-regular in the team over the following four years, playing internationals against India, New Zealand and Scotland in addition to other matches.<ref name="CESZP" /> His last first-class match was against Hampshire in September 1965<ref name="FCM" /> and his last game for Ireland against Combined Services in August 1967.<ref name="CESZP" />
===Statistics=== In all matches for Ireland, Hunter scored 800 runs at an average of 21.05, scoring three half-centuries. He took 33 wickets at an average of 29.97, taking five wickets in an innings twice.<ref name="CESZP" /> In first-class cricket, he scored 202 runs at an average of 11.22 and took 19 wickets at an average of 23.42. He took five wickets in an innings once.<ref name="CAP" />
==Rugby union== Hunter also played rugby union to a high level, playing ten times for Ireland in the Five Nations between 1962 and 1966, scoring one try.<ref>[http://www.scrum.com/1200_1205.php?player=23989 Rugby Union stats for Raymond Hunter at scrum.com]</ref> He also played for the British and Irish Lions.<ref name="CESZP" />
== Personal life == Hunter was married to Maureen and had three sons: Alan, Neil and Graeme. All three played cricket for the first team at Lurgan. Alan and Neil played in the first team of Portadown Rugby Football Club, as did his grandson Stephen.<ref name=port>{{cite news |last1=Robinson |first1=Carmel |title=Former international cricketer and rugby player Raymond Hunter dies |url=https://www.portadowntimes.co.uk/news/people/former-international-cricketer-and-rugby-player-raymond-hunter-dies-3063969 |access-date=10 December 2020 |work=www.portadowntimes.co.uk |date=10 December 2020 |language=en}}</ref>
Hunter served on the committee of Lurgan Cricket Club and managed the redevelopment of the cricket square at the club and general improvements to the grounds. His time on the committee included a key period when the club merged with Lurgan Rugby Club and moved to Pollock Park in 1980.<ref name=port/> Hunter died on 9 December 2020.<ref name=ce/>
==See also== * List of Irish cricket and rugby union players
==References== {{reflist}}
{{British and Irish Lions 1962}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Raymond}} Category:1938 births Category:2020 deaths Category:Irish cricket captains Category:Cricketers from Lisburn Category:Ireland international rugby union players Category:British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Ireland Category:Cricketers from Belfast Category:People educated at Wallace High School, Lisburn Category:Rugby union players from Belfast Category:Irish cricketers