Packer and Bradman had different roles in cricket's development

Bradman is widely regarded as the best player in history, while Packer revolutionised the game in the 1970s with his World Series cricket.

They were praised by Cricket Australia chairman Bob Merriman as the board prepared to celebrate its centenary.

"Kerry still has a deep passion for cricket. He still wants laws changed to make it more entertaining," he said.

"He's proactive and his ideas are very sensible."

Packer has not always had such an amicable relationship with administrators.

Leading players were banned from their respective Test sides after signing big-money contracts to play World Series, which ran from 1977 to 1979 and saw the introduction of coloured clothing and floodlit matches.

Kerry Packer profile

But once the two sides had reached a settlement, Packer's TV network Channel Nine became the home of Australian international cricket.

And he is keen to see all Tests and one-day internationals screened live in the cities where they are being played from the start of next season in order to maximise the potential audience.

"Through 100 years we have wanted to make cricket Australia's favourite sport.

"We can't do that if we keep locking a whole lot of people out of seeing it," Merriman told The Australian newspaper.

Bradman, meanwhile, was a cricket phenomenon who played 52 Tests over a 20-year period beginning in 1928 and scored 6,996 runs, including 29 centuries, at an incredible average of 99.94.

The Don - A cricket legend

He was knighted for services to cricket after ending his playing career in 1948 and later went on to become president of the South Australian Cricket Board and Chairman of Australia's selectors.

In 2000, an international panel of 100 former cricketers and journalists unanimously voted him the greatest ever.

The Adelaide Oval scoreboard read 'Farewell Sir Donald Bradman, Rest in Peace'

He died in February 2001 at the age of 92, and tributes poured in from all over the world.

Speaking at his memorial service, Richie Benaud said of Bradman: "He had the most brilliant and incisive mind of anyone I have come across in cricket.

"He was a sportsman not just for a few sessions, or a few days, but for all eras and all sports followers."

Bradman is one of 192 deceased former Test cricketers whose families will receive a special personalised certificate to mark the 100th anniversary of the first meeting of the Australian Board of Control for International Cricket Matches.

The board, now called Cricket Australia, has also approved the use of the baggy green cap badge on the gravestones of deceased players.