Rockingham's new Zimbabwe international hit a superb 128 on his winning debut and now hopes to help them complete the Division One season unbeaten then compete in the leagues above.
Stuart Matsikenyeri represented his country in eight Test matches, 113 One Day Internationals and two World Cups between 2002 and 2010.
Now 34, he is in England coaching a Zimbabwe academy team this summer and last week struck a deal to become Rockingham's overseas player.
He opened the batting at Wakefield Thornes 2nd XI on Saturday and hit 128 off 118 balls with 20 fours and two sixes.
Rock, who have won all 11 league games this season, made 265 then bowled their hosts out for 96 to stay 20 points clear at the top of the table and a further nine ahead of the teams outside the promotion places.
Stuart told the Chronicle: "I am really happy to be here. Rockingham have made it very easy for me. They are a great set of boys who are very passionate about cricket so it is easy to fit in.
"I was happy with my debut. Anytime you make a hundred, it is a great feeling. It was a massive challenge for me at first because the pace was a lot slower than what I have been used to but once I settled down it was fine. I was just glad to be part of a winning team."
Rock are hoping to gain promotion to the Championship then compete with Barnsley rivals such as Elsecar, Darfield, Houghton Main and Kexborough for a place in the ECB Yorkshire Premier South. Matsikenyeri – who has bowled out the likes of Kevin Pietersen and Kumar Sangakkara – would like to be part of that and sees promotions as more important than staying unbeaten.
He said: "Being undefeated should just be a product of what we are trying to achieve. We need to make sure the club is ready for the bigger challenges ahead and continue to raise the bar and be massively competitive in higher leagues. It is up to the club whether they want to keep me but I would definitely like to stay for longer."
Rockingham captain Richard Skipworth added: "This is a massive coup for us. We had been looking for an overseas player and a cricket agent suggested the young Zimbabwean players who are on tour. But I knew who the coach was so I cheekily asked if we could have him instead.
"It was a wonderful debut for him. He's clearly got international class. The way he moves his feet is excellent and he hits the ball incredibly hard.
"With us being top of the league already we were wondering if we needed an overseas player but the signing of Stuart will be a huge benefit for us on and off the pitch.
"He's got a lot of talent and skill and hopefully some of that will rub off on our young players.
"He's been fantastic in the dressing room and he's a really nice guy. He's already talking about the 'Rockingham family' and he has sent one of our club caps home to his young son.
"We were sitting in the clubhouse on Saturday and he was telling us stories about facing Shoaib Akhtar and having a run-in with Andrew Flintoff."
Rockingham's last defeat in the league was in April of last season, in which they finished top but dropped down to third after a points deduction for poaching a player from a rival team.
Skipworth said: "What happened last season has just spurred us on. We feel wronged and it's a huge motivator. We are absolutely delighted to have won every game in the first half of the season and to be 20 points clear.
"We are in a really good position to go up but we don't want to take our foot off the gas and Stuart will help with that. The aim is to go through the whole league season unbeaten."
