I recall my father telling me about a young left-hander from the bush who was making a name for himself for New South Wales in the Sheffield Shield.

One year older than me, the unorthodox batsman from Macksville had made the move from the country to have a crack at the big time, and in his short career he certainly proved he had what it took.

Sadly, it was also my father who informed me of Hughes’ condition on Tuesday around lunchtime, when word was filtering through about the horrific accident that had occurred at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

While my writing over the last few years has been focused on football, I have also followed cricket passionately for my entire life.

On Monday afternoon I had sent an email to myself with notes about the make-up of the Australian side for the first Test at the Gabba with particular consideration to who would replace injured captain Michael Clarke if he was unable to play.

As many of my friends and colleagues have probably learned over the years, I was a massive fan of Phil Hughes and that piece was going to centre on the case for his selection and the reasons why he should be a long-term fixture in Australia’s top order.

I was also intending on attending the first day of the Shield match between New South Wales and South Australia, in particular to get another look at Hughes, a player I have always loved to watch. For a number of reasons I didn’t make it to the ground. Tragically, I wouldn’t get to write that article and instead I am penning this.

Growing up on a banana plantation in Macksville in northern New South Wales, Phil Hughes made his debut for his local A-Grade side at the age of 12. Clearly an exceptional cricketer, his home-baked and at times unusual technique was honed in his backyard thanks to the efforts of his father, Greg, until they’d sold enough tickets in local raffles to fund the purchase of a bowling machine for the talented youngster.

Ruthlessly punishing anything outside the off-stump thanks to an open stance and quick shuffling of the feet, Hughes’ technique was in stark contrast to players from metropolitan areas who had grown up around professional coaches and had textbook technique developed from a young age.

Many questioned whether it would translate to higher levels of cricket, but through his typically rural qualities of fight and determination, the sheer weight of runs he scored ensured he would be afforded the opportunity.

He moved from the bush to Sydney to further his opportunities like many country kids dream of – not to escape their hometown, but to prove to those city slickers that they can mix it with them, or one-up them. He scored a century in his first-grade debut for Western Suburbs.

Hughes wasn’t just a cricketer as a youngster though, he played as a nippy halfback for the local rugby league club alongside Greg Inglis, who similarly went on to do great things in his chosen field.

In addition to those classic country qualities was a bit of cheek and a trademark smile, with many former teammates, in the wake of his untimely passing, paying tribute to a bloke who was quiet and humble but could also make them laugh.

I didn’t get to meet the man personally, but I did get to witness that laid-back and fun side of him first-hand on the Ashes Tour of England in 2013. After Day 2 of the fourth Test in Durham, which he had been left out of despite his heroic 81 not-out in partnership with Ashton Agar earlier in the series, Hughes was aboard the team bus early while the rest of the team were still filing out of the ground.

He was sat in the window seat above myself and a group of mates who were hanging around, as well as a rowdy bunch of Englishmen who decided to heckle the batsman.

“Hughes, you’re rubbish,” they called out, to which he just chuckled and then pretended to challenge them to a fight.

One then started blowing him kisses, calling him a number of things – while in jest, they aren’t exactly fit to publish.

His response was to press his face against the glass and begin French kissing the window, which surprised them somewhat but got them onside. He seemed a funny and likable guy, unfazed and one who didn’t take himself too seriously – despite how focused he was on his cricket.

“For all his good humour he took cricket very seriously and always worked tremendously hard at his game,” Cricket NSW chief executive Andrew Jones said today

That work rate became the backbone of his fledgling career.

Hughes’ move to Sydney and subsequent selection for NSW kick-started his career at Australia’s highest domestic level. He debuted as an 18-year-old – at the time the youngest player since Michael Clarke to do so – and began scoring the mountains of runs he would continue throughout the entirety of his career, and which forced his Test selection to replace the retiring Matthew Hayden.

His first tour in Australian colours was in South Africa in 2009, against the fiercest bowling attack in world cricket spearheaded by Dale Steyn. After making a duck in his first innings, caught behind from a loose cut shot, it looked like his technique may not translate to the highest level.

The next three innings proved otherwise, with a score of 75 in his second dig followed up with twin centuries at the Wanderers in only his second Test, becoming the youngest batsmen to score two centuries in a match with 115 and 160. They were typical of his personality: determined and gutsy, unfazed by the best fast bowlers in the world. He even brought up his maiden ton with consecutive sixes.

“It is an astonishing achievement from a fearless young man who represents a revival of the old Australian strain of the working-class lad from the backwaters prepared to have a crack, a line some thought outdated,” wrote the late Peter Roebuck.

It unfortunately wasn’t the beginning of a long-term position at the top of the order, and despite an incredibly short stint in County Cricket in England in build-up to the 2009 Ashes, where he bludgeoned 515 runs in only five innings, Hughes was dropped for the first of four times during that Ashes tour, having supposedly been “found out” by the English bowlers.

While it can devastate some, Hughes just went back to domestic cricket and continued where he left off. During his time at NSW Hughes scored 3288 runs at an average of 53, scoring 10 centuries in 37 Sheffield Shield matches. At 19, he became the youngest batsman to ever score a century in a Shield final.

The mountains of first-class runs that seemed to come at consummate ease ensured he was always in and around the squad, and he made his return in 2010. He had a decent run in the side up until December 2011 when he was dropped again, despite having recently scored his third Test century – 126 against Sri Lanka – and an 88 against South Africa – again at the Wanderers.

With competition for places at NSW arguably the toughest in the country with a wealth of top order batsmen, Hughes, like colleague Usman Khawaja, made the journey interstate for a fresh start at chasing a Test spot in 2011, opting for South Australia.

The runs continued to flow, and he made adjustments to his game to become a more complete player, still possessing a dominant offside game but he was far more comfortable playing off his body and through the leg side. Still though, he remained only a fringe member of the national side but true to his character it didn’t really bother him.

“Just being in this squad is where I need to be,” Hughes said in South Africa earlier this year, essentially on tour as an extra batsman.

“Playing or not playing, I’m happy to be in the squad and helping out the guys wherever needed. It doesn’t bother me about what happens here, I’m not looking too far ahead.

“Consistency is a big thing for me, having been in and out of the team. When I get another crack, I really want to try to be as consistent as I possibly can be.”

This year had been a fruitful one already, his inclusion in touring squads complemented with his highest first-class score coming for Australia A against South Africa A – a ferocious 243 not-out – a month after becoming the first Australian to score a List A double century. There was still plenty to come from the short but strong left-hander, and he was ensuring the selectors knew it.

It was a solid continuation from 2013, which saw him make his One Day International debut, and another record fell as he became the only Australian to score a century on debut. He made 112 against Sri Lanka at the MCG, and four matches later scored another, a swashbuckling 138 not-out which saved the series for Australia, tying it at 2-2. He was named man of the match in both.

He played a further 20 ODIs and finished with 826 runs at a decent average of 35.91, and didn’t play another Test following his dropping after the Lord’s Test in 2013, finishing with 1535 runs at an average of 32.66 in 26 Tests.

Tragically, those figures won’t be added to, when we were all so sure that he had the potential to have a record that could be compared to the recent greats like Matthew Hayden, Michael Clarke and Ricky Ponting.

“Although some commentators were frustrated by Hughes’ failure to dominate in Test cricket as much as he did in other forms, most recognised that he was yet in the early stages of his career, and that as his prime approached he would likely be an ever­ present in the side,” Peter Mason wrote in The Guardian.

“The Australia captain, Michael Clarke, noting his strong work ethic, declared in early 2014 that he expected Hughes not only to become a permanent fixture in the side over the ensuing decade but that he would play 100 Tests or more.”

No current players in the Sheffield Shield have a higher average than Hughes at 53.12, with 15 centuries and 25 half-centuries to his name. For comparison, it’s also higher than those of Justin Langer, Allan Border, Mark Waugh and Neil Harvey, and comfortably above those who were considered his competitors for Australian honours in Shaun Marsh, Alex Doolan and Khawaja.

The tributes which have been flowing in from around the world have been testament to his character and humility, which are qualities that seem to run in the family. His sister, Megan, spent time comforting a distraught Sean Abbott, the young NSW bowler who delivered the bouncer that ultimately and freakishly took his life.

Like the worldwide cricket community, my thoughts are with the Hughes family, his teammates and friends. But also, and importantly, I have Sean Abbott in my thoughts, and hope that the young man can get through this incredibly difficult time.

On Monday morning Hughes went out to bat, again with the possibility of being reinstated at Test level. With Chris Rogers nearing retirement, and only a couple of spots in the Australian batting order essentially locked down, it looked like an opportunity to get back into the side and cement his position there.

At 63 not-out, an assured half-century under his belt, it looked like he had again risen to the challenge, calling on the trademark determination and fight. Most cricketers, particularly batsmen, don’t peak until they reach their 30s.

There seemed like there was still so much time ahead of Phillip Hughes in an Australian shirt, perhaps close to a decade alongside close friend David Warner at the top of the order, and this could very well have been the beginning of that.

Shockingly, thanks to an incredibly rare occurrence, there wasn’t to be that time on his side. Like Archie Jackson and Victor Trumper, Hughes’ career was cut short and he was taken before he could completely fulfil his talent and potential.

Even so, his domestic record speaks for itself and he will forever remain one of the greatest domestic batsmen in the history of the Sheffield Shield.

Along with the run-scoring records, he finished with a number of awards including the 2007 New South Wales Rising Star Award, 2009 Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year, 2008-09 Sheffield Shield Player of the Year and 2012-13 Domestic Player of the Year.

Sadly, we probably didn’t get to see the best that he had to offer, for it was yet to come. Kerry O’Keeffe summed it up best today, saying, “The point fielder in heaven is nervous… very nervous”.

Test cap number 408, One Day International jersey number 64. Forever 25 years old, forever 63 not-out.

Rest in Peace, Phillip Joel Hughes.