The 25-year-old was a hugely popular figure within the Nambucca Valley and cricket world; and now, told through the voices of those who knew him best, Phillip Hughes: The Official Biography is the incredible story of the boy from Macksville who became Australian Test cricketer No.408.

It follows his life, love of his cattle, hometown and passion for the sport at such a young age.

Sydney Morning Herald cricket writer and author Malcolm Knox, and senior cricket correspondent for The Australian, Peter Lalor, were commissioned earlier this year to write the book.

“From go to whoa, it didn’t actually take a long time,” Malcolm told the Guardian. “The family got the ball rolling in the early part of the year and we were finished by September.

“For a book of that size in that specific time-frame, it’s fairly intense and too much for one person to take on, which is why we divided it between us.

“Peter covered Phil’s early years up until the time he left Macksville, whereas I did the rest of his life and knitted the two sections together and shaped it.”

Malcolm said it was an emotional 12 months for all involved.

“We did a total of 85 interviews – and there were quite a few tears during them,” he said.

“The thing about Phil that makes it different is because he died so young. 

“In the normal course of events, Phil would have kept playing cricket, he would have got back into the Australian team and played for his life for the rest of his career. 

“After which a book could come out at the end of his career to mark his many great achievements … but because his life was tragically cut short, a greater portion of his life was involved in just country, school, grade and Sheffield Shield cricket. 

“There’s a great focus on lower levels of cricket in the book where he was a legend in the sense there were a lot of stories told about him, he made a lot of friends, and he was very fond of where he came from … fond actually doesn’t even begin to describe it.”

Phillip played his first match for NSW 10 days before his 19th birthday, making him the youngest to don the baggy blue cap since Michael Clarke eight years earlier.

He became a Test cricketer in 2009 and in his second Test, Phillip scored twin centuries – the youngest man in cricket’s 135-year history to achieve the feat – and the world hailed the arrival of a brilliant new star.

But despite all the accolades achieved on the global stage, his heart and soul was still in Macksville.

“Everyone knows he went back there (to Macksville) a lot, and his intention was to retire from cricket and run his cattle farm,” Malcolm said.

“A lot was said about how much of a local boy he was, there’s no exaggeration. I don’t think he ever really left Macksville.”

Malcolm said the important thing to note about the book was that it is a celebration of Phillip’s life.

“It doesn’t arrive at his death until the very end … it’s there and it’s recorded, but the book – there was no intention of Phil’s family to dwell on his death, afterwards, and the darker side of it,” he said.

“I wrote it from the outside, as someone who didn’t know him personally. I asked the question – ‘what was it about him?’, and that could only be answered by people who knew him.

“There’s an undercurrent of sadness, but it’s a real celebration of his life.”