"We the family of cricketer David Hookes wish to inform David's many friends, family members and fans that he passed away today at the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne," Hookes' brother Terry Cranagh said.

"David had been celebrating Victoria's cricketing win over South Australia with friends at he Beaconsfield Hotel before the incident occurred," a visibly upset Cranagh said.

"We trust that the police will conduct a full investigation into the cause of the incident and that the justice process will provide us with some insight into what occurred," he read from a statement at the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne.

Hookes was the coach of the Victoria state side.

The 48-year-old Hookes, a swashbuckling batsman who played 23 Tests for Australia from 1976-77 to 1985-86, had been taken to hospital after the assault late on Sunday.

Paramedics gave Hookes cardiopulmonary resuscitation for about 30 minutes at the scene of the assault, outside a hotel in the bayside suburb of St Kilda. He never regained consciousness.

He was rushed to intensive care. He was in a coma for a while but eventually his family took the agonising decision to switch off the machine at 7pm local time (0800 GMT).

Witnesses alleged Hookes was struck by one of a group of security staff who had followed him after he left the hotel at the corner of Beaconsfield Parade and Cowderoy Street about 11.30pm. He fell heavily on the bitumen, suffering massive head injuries and cardiac arrest.

Victoria police said on Monday that they had charged a 21-year-old man, Zdravco Micevic, with one count of assault. Local media reported that the man worked as a security guard at the hotel. Micevic made a brief appearance in the Melbourne Magistrates Court and was granted conditional bail. Police are now expected to consider further charges.

Hookes made a sparkling debut aged 21 in the Centenary Test in Melbourne in 1977, hitting England's Tony Greig for five consecutive boundaries as he reached his half-century.

The left-hander made 1,306 Test runs, including a top score of 143 not out, at an average of 34.36.

Hookes is also the fifth highest run-scorer in interstate cricket, hitting 9,364 runs for South Australia. He had a highest score of 306 not out. When he retired from first-class cricket in 1992 he was the highest run-scorer in Australian domestic cricket.