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The Prime Minister suggested we name a day after him and some pundits even guessed that the royal baby would be called Ashton.

Young cricket phenomenon Ashton Agar took not only the cricketing fraternity by the whole world by storm as he smashed records during the first Test against England.

But his cracking Ashes debut came as no surprise to the University Cricket Club (UCC), for whom the gangly young left-hander scored a memorable century last year.

With his natural style and easy-going nature, the Melbourne-raised teenager impressed his teammates during the 10 first-grade matches he played for UWA in 2012-13 - none more so than when he salvaged a match against top-ranked opponents Claremont-Nedlands last December  with a score of 108.

"It was a similar situation to the one he was facing in his first Test match, a bit of backs-to-the-wall retaliation, and he was just fearless," club captain Josh Mangan said. "Although it was more of a match-saving innings than a match-defining one."

He said the UCC, which celebrates its Centenary this year, was proud and delighted to count Ashton among its players. He said it was Ashton's attitude as much as his ability which had won him a new legion of fans.

"What you see is what you get with Ralphie (so named for his penchant for Ralph Lauren shirts)," Josh said. "What you see with the way he plays is exactly how he is as a person.  He's relaxed but committed when he needs to be, and he's pretty determined.

"He's a good young bloke.  If he had have gone about it in a different fashion and got the same number of runs I don't think it would have captured the nation's attention the way it has.

"It's not only the number he got, it's how he got them - his persona, which has caught everyone's attention as much as the score, and how humble he has been, how well he's spoken in the media when required, all that sort of stuff.  I think people have been captured by the youthful enthusiasm but also the maturity."

Ashton's performance -- along with the presence of two other UCC players, Australian opener Chris Rogers and Ian Bell (playing for England) in the Ashes sides - is icing on the centenary cake for the club, as it celebrates its 100 ^th year and reflects on a roll-call of big cricket names to pass through the club.

They include current chairman of selectors for Australian cricket, John Inverarity; current Cricket Australia chairman Wally Edwards; former Australian Test cricketer Rod Marsh; and renowned cricket writer and UCC Vice President John Townsend.

See what The Guardian had to say about the new Australian star and watch Ashton at his post-match press conference.