Perth, Mar 6 (IANS): Western Australia Cricket chief Christina Matthews has said that the demise of two Australian legends -- Shane Warne and Rod Marsh -- in a span of just of few hours on Friday had left everyone "almost dumbfounded", adding that one wished "that's not true".

Former wicketkeeper-batter Rod Marsh passed away at 74 at a hospital in Adelaide after suffering a massive heart-attack last week, while legendary spinner Warne, 52, died due to a suspected heart-attack in Thailand hours later.

"It was a big enough shock to lose Rod, and then within 24 hours lose Shane Warne," Matthews was quoted as saying by perthnow.com.au on Sunday.

"Everyone is walking around almost dumbfounded about how can that happen. It is surreal. It is one of those things (hearing of Warne's passing) that you think 'that's not true, they've made a mistake'. It kind of distracted you from everything. You just think 'how has that happened?'" she said.

The WA Cricket CEO added that their passing had shocked the world.

"He (Warne) loved the people, and the people loved him. I remember once walking with him back to the dressing room and he just kept stopping as people asked him for autographs. He was just really warm to anyone who wanted to say hello to him," she added.