Hookes' death was confirmed in a statement by his family

Hookes suffered serious head injuries in a fight outside a pub in the city where he first made his name as a Test batsman for Australia. He hit five successive fours off Greig in his debut match in 1977.

"He showed us all - and in particular me - how good a player he was. He was an instant hero," said Greig.

"I remember well the moment he walked to the crease. I was standing at silly point and as is always the case when a youngster first arrives, you tend to niggle him a bit and I had a little bit of a go at him.

"He responded very fast and put me right in my place."

The pair worked together as commentators on many occasions in recent years.

"I've commentated with him all round the world. He was a really nice guy with a broad cross-section of understanding about cricket and other things as well.

It's a tragic loss for Australian cricket Tony Greig

Former Australian wicket-keeper Rod Marsh, now head coach of England's Academy, was batting at the other end when Hookes tore into Greig's bowling.

"They were all genuinely good cricket shots. When he was on, he was almost unstoppable.

"He wasn't a great player of spin bowling, but when he was on the attack he was very dangerous," Marsh told Sky TV.

"There's a lot of blokes with lesser ability than David Hookes, who have played more Test matches."

Bob Merriman, chairman of Cricket Australia and president of Victorian cricket, described Hookes as a "rare, gifted athlete".

He said: "It is well known that David was an outstanding sportsman from the start and he demonstrated this at an early age for South Australia, who he eventually captained to a Sheffield Shield title, for Australia and also during the World Series Cricket era.

"More recently, David became a very successful coach of Victoria. His willingness and ability to help others, particularly young players, was probably less publicly known than his other achievements but should also be noted as an important part of his significant contribution to the game he loved."