He had a delightful straight drive early and was playing reverse sweeps by the end.
Kerr had to be disciplined, making sure he didn't get ahead of himself.
“My goal was to bat as long as I could and keep the scoreboard ticking over,” he said.
On a day that started warm and where the temperature peaked above 34 degrees Celsius, according to MetService, the wicketkeeper-batsman said he was pleased with his concentration, ball by ball.
“Thank goodness for the wind,” he said.
Kerr was ably supported by opener Nic Hendrie (49), No.5 Graham Hudson (37) and No.6 Scott Tallott (29).
No.7 Rowan Smith chipped in with 25 not out at the end.
The ball wasn't coming on to the bat quite as nicely when it got older and softer, but batsmen were still able to profit.
Kerr used his feet effectively against the spinners, who looked the biggest threat for Waikato Valley.
Off-spinner Banroj Sidhu was getting turn and he had Hendrie caught by wicketkeeper Noah Gray.
“After Nick and Graham got out, it was key that I went as deep as possible,” Kerr said.
By the time he was dismissed at the start of the 44th over, Poverty Bay had 278 runs on the board and were headed for a score exceeding 320.
The youthful Waikato Valley side never looked like matching that but they toiled in the heat with both bat and ball.
Opener Alex Wilton scored 47, No.3 Edward Sclater 29, No.4 Danyn Stewart 42 and No.6 Matthew Fisher 36, but they needed at least one of those contributions to be larger.
The Poverty Bay seamers bowled tightly and spinners Drew Brierley and Parminder Kulaar snared a couple of wickets each.
Poverty Bay captain Andrew Gibbs said it was important for his team to follow up their strong batting effort by starting well with the ball.
The run rate was in check by the time he brought on the spinners, which was just how he wanted it.
At 105-4 in the 21st over, Waikato Valley faced an uphill battle and they were bowled out in 45 overs.
Gibbs won the toss and chose to bat.
He said that was the side's strong suit and he believed they could then defend the total they put on the board.
He said Hendrie was dynamic and Kerr was his “favourite person to watch bat”.
The skipper said Kerr could often score at a good clip but he was impressed with the control the No.3 showed yesterday, continually building partnerships and batting according to the situation.
Gibbs said all-rounder Hudson's return to the side from injury made a difference.
Waikato Valley were a man short and Poverty Bay's Sam Patterson filled in for them, contributing five overs of medium pace and 12 not out at No.9.
Waikato Valley captain Ollie Louden said his bowling attack lacked some strike power but they pulled things back after Poverty Bay's bright start.
“Our spinners bowled pretty well.”
He thought it was the hottest day on which he had played cricket.
“It was a sauna out there.
“We gave it a good crack and fought right till the end.”
