Shane Warne, Brett Lee, R Ashwin and more: Cricketing world takes to Twitter to mourn Benaud's passing

Within hours of his death on Friday, former Australia cricket captain and pioneering television commentator Richie Benaud was described as a “national treasure” and praised by his peers, current players and the country’s prime minister.

Benaud, 84, died overnight at a Sydney hospice, surrounded by his wife, Daphne, and other family members. He had been fighting skin cancer since late last year.

A veteran of 63 test matches, Benaud later played a pivotal role in the formation of World Series Cricket in the 1970s and was one of the world’s most recognized commentators, in Australia where he anchored the Nine Network’s cricket coverage for decades, and in Britain.

Tributes started flowing on Twitter and the cricketing world mourned the death of the ‘voice of cricket.