Luke Ronchi ( ; born 23 April 1981) is a New Zealand-Australian cricket coach and a former cricketer. He represented both the

Australia national cricket team The Australia men's national cricket team represents Australia in men's international cricket. As the joint oldest team in Test cricket history, playing in the first ever Test match in 1877, the team also plays One-Day International (ODI) an ...

and

New Zealand national cricket team The New Zealand national cricket team represents New Zealand in men's international cricket. Named the Black Caps, they played their first Test in 1930 against England in Christchurch, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. From 1930 ...

in international cricket. Ronchi is the only player to have played for both Australia and New Zealand in cricketing history and was part of the New Zealand World Cup side that finished runners-up in the

2015 Cricket World Cup The 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup was the 11th Cricket World Cup, a quadrennial One Day International (ODI) cricket tournament contested by men's national teams and organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was jointly hosted by Aust ...

, after their defeat in the final to Australia. He played for

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

in New Zealand domestic matches and has played

Twenty20 Twenty20 (T20) is a shortened game format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two teams have a single innin ...

matches for a range of sides. He retired from international cricket in June 2017. Born in Dannevirke in the

Manawatū-Whanganui Manawatū-Whanganui (; spelled Manawatu-Wanganui prior to 2019) is a region in the lower half of the North Island of New Zealand, whose main population centres are the cities of Palmerston North and Whanganui. It is administered by the Manawat ...

region of New Zealand, Ronchi emigrated to

Perth, Western Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, with his family at an early age. He was educated at

Kent Street Senior High School Kent Street Senior High School is a public co-educational specialist high day and boarding school in the Town of Victoria Park, located on Kent Street in East Victoria Park, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Over 50 percent of students a ...

. He is an aggressive batsman and fields as a

wicket-keeper The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being watchful of the batsman and ready to take a catch, stump the batsman out and run out a batsman when occasion arises. Th ...

. He debuted for

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

in January 2002. After a period as second-choice wicket-keeper behind

Ryan Campbell Ryan John Campbell (born 7 February 1972) is an Australian former cricketer who represented both Australia and Hong Kong internationally. He is the current head coach of the Dutch national team, having taken on the role in April 2017. Campb ...

, Ronchi became Western Australia's first-choice keeper after Campbell's retirement in 2006. For a period of time between 2007 and 2009, he served as Australia's second-choice keeper behind

Brad Haddin Bradley James Haddin (born 23 October 1977), is a former Australian cricketer, vice-captain and coach who represented Australia in all three forms of international cricket. He played domestically for New South Wales as a right-handed batsman ...

, and played several matches for Australia A. After Haddin broke his finger during the national team's 2008 tour of the West Indies, Ronchi played one

Twenty20 International A Twenty20 International (T20I) is a form of cricket, played between two of the international members of the International Cricket Council (ICC), in which each team faces a maximum of twenty overs. The matches have top-class status and are the ...

(T20I) and four

One-Day International A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World Cup ...

(ODI) matches, and later played two further Twenty20 International matches against the touring South African team in 2009. In February 2012, Ronchi announced his intention to return to New Zealand to further his cricketing career, and signed with the

Wellington cricket team The Wellington Firebirds are one of six New Zealand men's first-class cricket teams that make up New Zealand Cricket. It is based in Wellington. It competes in the Plunket Shield first class (4-day) competition, The Ford Trophy domestic one da ...

the following month. He made his ODI debut for New Zealand in May 2013, becoming the first player to play for both Australia and New Zealand at international level. Ronchi made his Test debut for New Zealand in May 2015 against England scoring 88 off 70 balls. Ronchi's first innings runs were critical in propping up New Zealand after a shaky start on an overcast morning in Leeds. New Zealand won the match in only their fifth win in England and their first in nearly 30 years on English soil. Ronchi announced his retirement from international cricket on 21 June 2017. Former New Zealand captain

Brendon McCullum Brendon Barrie McCullum (born 27 September 1981) is a cricket coach, commentator and former cricketer representing New Zealand, who played all formats, including as captain. McCullum was renowned for his quick scoring, notably recording the f ...

, under whom Ronchi spent most of his career playing under, described Ronchi as someone who, "embodied all that is important about the

Black Caps The New Zealand national cricket team represents New Zealand in men's international cricket. Named the Black Caps, they played their first Test in 1930 against England in Christchurch, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. From 1930 ...

culture. Selfless, respectful, humble and hard working."

Domestic career

Ronchi is well known for his ability to score runs quickly and on 7 February 2007 he broke the record for the fastest domestic one-day hundred in Australian cricket. Opening the batting against

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Ronchi scored his maiden one-day ton off only 56 deliveries, beating the previous record held by fellow West Australian Adam Voges of 62 deliveries. When dismissed, he had scored 105 runs from just 64 balls and easily guided

to an 8-wicket victory over

. Ronchi began the 2007–08 season in strong fashion. Proving that he is in the Australian selectors minds for the future, Ronchi was chosen as Australia A wicketkeeper for their tour of

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. In the second first-class match of the tour, Ronchi scored a blistering 107 off 109 balls, striking 16 fours and 2 sixes. His good form continued into the Australian Domestic season, as he scored 104 against

in Western Australia's first

List A List A cricket is a classification of the limited-overs (one-day) form of the sport of cricket, with games lasting up to eight hours. List A cricket includes One Day International (ODI) matches and various domestic competitions in which the numbe ...

match of the season. In November 2007 Ronchi scored one of the fastest centuries in Australian Domestic history with a ton from 51 balls against

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

. Ronchi struck 11 sixes in his innings of 105* with his second fifty coming from just 11 balls. Ronchi was also recruited by the

Mumbai Indians Mumbai Indians are a franchise cricket team based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, that competes in the Indian Premier League and is the most successful team of the tournament with 5 titles. Founded in 2008, the team is owned by India's biggest conglo ...

team in 2007, one of the eight

Indian Premier League The Indian Premier League (IPL), also known as TATA IPL for sponsorship reasons, is a men's T20 franchise cricket league of India. It is annually contested by ten teams based out of seven Indian cities and three Indian states. The leagu ...

(IPL) franchises. He played five matches for the team, spread throughout the

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

and 2009 tournaments, scoring a total of 34 runs at an

average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...

of 6.80.

International career

Australia

In April 2008,

Cricket Australia Cricket Australia (CA), formerly known as the Australian Cricket Board (ACB), is the governing body for professional and amateur cricket in Australia. It was originally formed in 1905 as the 'Australian Board of Control for International Crick ...

named

as the only wicketkeeper in its list of 25 contracted players, overlooking Ronchi. Despite failing to receive a contract, Ronchi was called up to the Australian team in June 2008 during their tour of the West Indies when Haddin was unable to play after breaking his finger. After making his international debut in the tour's

match (scoring 36 from 22 balls opening the batting with fellow West Australian on international debut,

Shaun Marsh Shaun Edward Marsh (born 9 July 1983) is an Australian cricketer who plays for the Western Australia cricket team in Australian domestic cricket and has represented Australia in all three formats. Nicknamed SOS ("Son of Swampy"), he is a left-h ...

), he was not required to bat in his first two ODI matches. In the final game of the series, he was elevated up the batting order to number three and batted very well to record the equal second fastest fifty by an Australian on his way to scoring 64 from 28 balls, including six sixes and was awarded the player of the match award (later in the same match

David Hussey David John Hussey (born 15 July 1977) is an Australian cricket coach and former cricketer. Hussey is a right-handed batter and can also bowl right-arm off breaks. He is the younger brother of former Australian cricketer Michael Hussey. He was ...

scored an even faster fifty relegating Ronchi's innings to equal third fastest). Ronchi made his debut on home soil in a

match at the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadiu ...

(MCG) against the

South Africans The population of South Africa is about 58.8 million people of diverse origins, cultures, languages, and religions. The South African National Census of 2022 was the most recent census held; the next will be in 2032. In 2011, Statistics Sout ...

as wicketkeeper when Haddin was rested from the team.

New Zealand

In February 2012, Ronchi announced his intention to return to New Zealand in an attempt to qualify for the

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

. He signed with

in March 2012, and made his

Plunket Shield New Zealand has had a domestic first-class cricket championship since the 1906–07 season. Since the 2009–10 season it has been known by its original name of the Plunket Shield. History The Plunket Shield competition was instigated in Octob ...

debut on 18 March against

Central Districts The Central Stags, formerly known as Central Districts, are a first-class cricket team based in central New Zealand. They are the men's representative side of the Central Districts Cricket Association. They compete in the Plunket Shield firs ...

, scoring a century, 111, on debut for the team. In April 2013, Ronchi was selected by the New Zealand cricket board as part of the limited-overs squad for the New Zealand tour of England the following month. He made his debut for the team on 31 May 2013 at

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...

, scoring a

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...

and taking three catches. He thus became the first player to play international cricket for both Australia and New Zealand, 8th player in ODI history and the first since

Kepler Wessels Kepler Christoffel Wessels (born 14 September 1957) is a South African-Australian cricket commentator and former cricketer who captained South Africa after playing 24 Tests for Australia. Since retiring he has been a lawn bowls competitor. He ...

(Australia and South Africa) in the 1980s to play for two full members of the

International Cricket Council The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the world governing body of cricket. Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, its members are List of International Cricket Council members, 108 national associations, with 12 List of Internation ...

(ICC). In January 2015, Ronchi hit an unbeaten 170 off 99 balls against

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

at University Oval in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

. This was the highest by a batsman batting seventh or lower in ODIs, and also the third-highest score by a wicket-keeper, behind

MS Dhoni Mahendra Singh Dhoni (; born 7 July 1981) is an Indian former international cricketer who was captain of the Indian national cricket team in limited-overs formats from 2007 to 2017 and in Test cricket from 2008 to 2014. He is also the curren ...

's 183 not out and

Adam Gilchrist Adam Craig Gilchrist (; born 14 November 1971) is an Australian cricket commentator and former international cricketer and captain of the Australia national cricket team. He was an attacking left-handed batsman and record-breaking wicket-keep ...

's 172. Ronchi is also the only batsman to have scored a 150 in an ODI innings when batting at number 7 position or lower. Ronchi along with

Grant Elliott Grant David Elliott (born 21 March 1979) is a former New Zealand cricketer, who played all formats of the game. Primarily a batting all-rounder, Elliott contributed a man of the match performance to provide entrance to New Zealand's first ever ...

set the highest ever record stand of 267

not out In cricket, a batter is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batter is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress. Occurrence At least one batter is not out at t ...

for the sixth wicket in ODI history. During the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy, in what was to be his final international matches, Ronchi played as an opening wicket-keeper-batsman. On 22 June, he announced his retirement from international cricket, and will be available in domestic cricket for Wellington and

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

Post international retirement

Following his international retirement, Ronchi signed for

Leicestershire County Cricket Club Leicestershire County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Leicestershire. It has also been representative of the count ...

to play in the 2017 NatWest t20 Blast. He enjoyed a successful tournament racking up 429 runs at a strike rate of 180.25 as an opener and scored three half-centuries, including a 16-ball 50 against Durham, the third fastest half-century in English T20 history. In the 2018 Pakistan Super League, Ronchi scored a half-century off 19 balls for

Islamabad United Islamabad United ( ur, ) is a Pakistani professional Twenty20 franchise cricket team that competes in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). It was the inaugural champion of the Pakistan Super League. The team is based in Islamabad, the capital cit ...

, the second fastest in the history of the

Pakistan Super League The Pakistan Super League (PSL) is a professional Twenty20 cricket league contested during February and March of every year by six teams representing six cities of Pakistan. The league was founded on 9 September 2015 with five teams by the Paki ...

. In June 2018, he was drafted by Edmonton Royals to play in the inaugural edition of the

Global T20 Canada The Global T20 Canada is a 20-over cricket tournament played in Canada. The first edition of the tournament took place during June and July 2018 with six teams competing. Each team featured four local Canadian cricketers in each squad, along wi ...

tournament and in September 2018 was named in Kabul's squad in the

first edition The bibliographical definition of an edition includes all copies of a book printed from substantially the same setting of type, including all minor typographical variants. First edition According to the definition of ''edition'' above, a b ...

of the

Afghanistan Premier League The Afghanistan Premier League (APL) ( ps, ; fa, ), officially Gulbahar Afghanistan Premier League for sponsorship reasons, is a Twenty20 cricket franchise tournament run by the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB), held in the United Arab Emirat ...

tournament. In October he was drafted by

Chittagong Vikings The Chattogram Challengers ( Chittagonian/ bn, চট্টগ্রাম চ্যালেঞ্জার্স) is a franchise cricket team which participates in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). The franchise was founded in 2012 & based ...

for the

2018–19 Bangladesh Premier League The 2018–19 BPL season, also known as BPL 6 or UCB BPL 2019 Powered by TVS (for sponsorship reasons), was the sixth season of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), the top level professional Twenty20 cricket franchise league in Bangladesh. T ...

. In July 2019, he was selected to play for the Rotterdam Rhinos in the inaugural edition of the

Euro T20 Slam The Euro T20 Slam is a planned professional Twenty20 cricket league. The first edition of the tournament was initially scheduled to start in August 2019, with matches to be held in Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands. It's launch has been post ...

cricket tournament. However, the following month the tournament was cancelled.

Coaching career

In April 2019, he was also appointed as fielding and wicketkeeping coach for New Zealand until the end of

2019 Cricket World Cup The 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup was the 12th Cricket World Cup, a quadrennial One Day International (ODI) cricket tournament contested by men's national teams and organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was hosted between 30 May ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ronchi, Luke 1981 births Living people Australia One Day International cricketers Australia Twenty20 International cricketers Australian cricket coaches Australian cricketers Chittagong Vikings cricketers Cricketers at the 2015 Cricket World Cup Cricketers from Dannevirke Dual international cricketers Guyana Amazon Warriors cricketers Hampshire Cricket Board cricketers Islamabad United cricketers Kabul Zwanan cricketers Leicestershire cricketers Mumbai Indians cricketers New Zealand cricket coaches New Zealand cricketers New Zealand emigrants to Australia New Zealand One Day International cricketers New Zealand Test cricketers New Zealand Twenty20 International cricketers North Island cricketers People educated at Kent Street Senior High School Perth Scorchers cricketers Somerset cricketers Warwickshire cricketers Wellington cricketers Western Australia cricketers World XI Twenty20 International cricketers