The news came through shortly before 2100 GMT on Sunday, 25 February.

Sir Donald Bradman had died in Adelaide, said Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) Radio. He was 92.

Bradman, whose Test batting average of 99.94 has never been rivalled, died at his home on Sunday morning, ABC said.

The news sent shockwaves throughout the country.

ABC producer Sharon Roobol told BBC Sport Online: "It's a very sad day. He was such an iconic figure.

"Our prime minister John Howard is a massive cricket fan, and Bradman will be treated as a real hero in terms of his funeral. The whole country related to him."

Indeed, the cricket-loving Howard visited Bradman at his home on Friday after learning he was gravely ill.

"I knew he was in very poor health," Howard said.

"He was more than just a great cricketer and a great sportsman, he was a dominant Australian personality in a way that I don't think any other person has been in the last 100 years."

Howard added: "He was a person who at a time of economic and social despair during the Depression lifted the spirits of the Australian people."

Ex-Australian skipper Richie Benaud told BBC 5 Live Bradman was a hero both on and off the pitch.

"His contribution to world cricket was immense, not just as a cricketer, but as an administrator," said Benaud.

Former Australian Test cricket captain Mark Taylor said Bradman was the greatest Australian he had ever met.

"Fifty three years after playing his final Test match, he was still revered around the world, held in incredible esteem," Taylor said in a statement.

"As a cricketer, the world has known no equal. He was the true symbol of fine sportsmanship, the benchmark that all young cricketers aspired to.

"His innings may have closed, but his legacy will forever live on in the hearts of millions of Australians."

Another former national skipper Bill Brown said Sir Donald was a great Australian who survived the tumultuous world of international cricket without a blemish on his character.

The 88-year-old Test captain during the 1930s and 1940s told ABC radio he played many games with Sir Donald.

Highly respected

"You could sum it up saying he was a great Australian," said Brown.

"He was sincere, honest and certainly cricketers respected him very highly."

Not only was he an inspiration for up-and-coming cricketers, "he was the pinnacle of Australian cricket".

England's current chairman of selectors David Graveney felt the news of Sir Donald's death would shake Australia.

He said: ""I have been fortunate to go to Australia a couple of times and you do really understand the status of Sir Donald and so it will rock Australia to its foundations.

"I don't think anyone will ever get anywhere near the records he has set."