Fifteen years ago at the start of the 1999 Southern League season, a skinny teenage cricketer from Western Australia pitched up at Bashley-Rydal’s ground in the heart of the New Forest.

A week or so later, that same fresh faced 18-year old youth plundered 130 off the Old Tauntonians & Romsey attack, an innings which included three huge sixes and nine fours, writes Mike Vimpany.

Luke Ronchi had signalled his arrival on the local scene – and he’s hardly looked back since.

Those 15 years on, Ronchi has scored 7,000 in top grade cricket in the Southern Hemisphere, appearing seven times for Australia in ODI and twenty20 internationals, besides a welter of state and provincial matches.

Yesterday, having returned to play in and for New Zealand (the land of his birth in 1981), he helped the Black Caps beat England in the opening One-Day International at Lord’s, keeping wicket tidily and bagging three victims.

Tomorrow – and despite being caught at slip for a third ball duck off the bowling of England’s James Anderson – Ronchi will be behind the stumps and open the New Zealand batting at the Ageas Bowl in the second ODI.

Ronchi’s emergence on the international stage comes as no surprise to Neil Taylor, his Bashley (Rydal) team-mate in those formative years.

“I’d like to take some credit for Luke’s career,” says Taylor with a wide grin.

“I told him to stop playing so many shots, be more patient and learn to build an innings.

“He took no notice whatsoever and carried on smashing attack after attack.”

It became immediately obvious to Taylor that in Luke Ronchi someone special had arrived at Bashley from Perth cricket club.

“He was a phenomenal talent,” Taylor recalled.

“He was only a little guy, but my goodness did he hit the ball.

“He played shots the rest of us could only dream about. One speciality was his back-foot cover drive which simply flew out of the ground.”

Ronchi played three seasons of Southern Electric Premier League cricket with Bashley (Rydal), rattling up six centuries, 16 half-centuries and 34 shy of 2,000 runs.

He was also Man of the Match in the Southern Electric twenty20 Cup final against Liphook & Ripsley at Northlands Road.

Ronchi certainly enjoyed his time at Bashley, peppering the nearby garden centre and Bashley’s football ground with sixes galore.

“I’m not sure how many sixes he hit in those three years, but we must have lost loads of cricket balls – and dented a few passing cars,” Taylor chuckled.

Fifteen years on and now playing provincial cricket for Wellington, back in his own country, Ronchi still keeps in touch with his old Bashley team-mates.

“He was in touch immediately he knew he’s been selected for the 4One Day tournament and the Champions Trophy and a few of the lads will be in the crowd at the Ageas Bowl tomorrow cheering him on,” Taylor said.

“Unfortunately, the ODI coincides with Bashley’s ECB Cup tie at Totton & Eling, but we’ll be well represented and it will be great to see him again.

“There’s a framed Luke Ronchi Australia shirt mounted on our clubhouse wall to remember him by and I’m sure Luke will look back on those formative days at our club as significant in his development as a top cricketer.”

Preview of the big Ageas Bowl match in today's Daily Echo