| Ray Hope | |
| Country: | New Zealand |
| Fullname: | Raymond William Hope |
| Nickname: | Punker |
| Birth Date: | 19 January 1904 |
| Birth Place: | Wanganui, New Zealand |
| Death Place: | Christchurch, New Zealand |
| Batting: | Right-handed |
| Bowling: | Right-arm fast-medium |
| Club1: | Wellington |
| Year1: | 1928-29 to 1929-30 |
| Club2: | Canterbury |
| Year2: | 1933-34 |
| Columns: | 1 |
| Column1: | First-class |
| Matches1: | 7 |
| Runs1: | 68 |
| Bat Avg1: | 9.71 |
| 100S/50S1: | 0/0 |
| Top Score1: | 29 |
| Deliveries1: | 1343 |
| Wickets1: | 16 |
| Bowl Avg1: | 49.31 |
| Fivefor1: | 0 |
| Tenfor1: | 0 |
| Best Bowling1: | 3/61 |
| Catches/Stumpings1: | 5/0 |
| Date: | 5 December |
| Year: | 2014 |
| Source: | https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/16/16927/16927.html Cricket Archive |
Raymond William "Punker" Hope (19 January 1904 – 24 June 1978) was a New Zealand cricketer who played first-class cricket from 1925 to 1934 and played for New Zealand in the days before New Zealand played Test cricket.
A tall fast bowler, Ray Hope was selected in the New Zealand team to tour Australia in 1925-26 before he had played a first-class match. Several of the originally selected players had had to withdraw, and Hope was the final replacement chosen.[1] His senior cricket had been played for Manawatu. In Manawatu's match against the touring Victorians in 1924-25 he and Norman Gallichan had dismissed the Victorians for 191 to give Manawatu a 14-run first-innings lead.[2] In November 1925, a few days before the team to Australia was finalised, he took 5 for 3 in a club match in Palmerston North.[3]
Hope played in two of the four matches against Australian state teams on the tour, taking three wickets at an average of 84.00.[4] His next first-class matches were for Wellington, one match in 1928-29 and one in 1929-30, again for a total of three wickets.[5] He then played the full Plunket Shield season of three matches for Canterbury in 1933-34, taking three wickets in the first innings of each match, and finishing with 10 wickets at 38.20. In the later part of his career ill-health affected his stamina, and he was more effective in club games than at first-class level.[6]
He also played rugby for Manawatu.[7]