Australians Celebrated the centenary of their greatest sporting hero

Australians on Wednesday marked the centenary of their greatest sporting hero, cricketer Don Bradman, by celebrating the fact his unbeaten record is still untouchable 60 years after he quit the sport.

Australian captain Ricky Ponting led tributes to the global cricketing hero.

"That Bradman made a century on average every time he batted is remarkable in itself, but to realise his batting average is virtually twice as high as anyone who played Test cricket for any length of time shows why he is one of sport's great stories," Ponting wrote in The Australian.

Ponting said sporting records were made to be broken, with the Beijing Olympics no exception with the breathtaking feats of swimmer Michael Phelps and runner Usain Bolt. But Bradman's was an "unassailable" record, he said.

"Of the 2,519 batsmen who have taken the crease in 131 years of Test cricket, Bradman stands alone and untouched," he said. "I am no aware of any other sport which has one competitor so far above any other performer."