Anniversary of Shane Warne’s death marked with tributes
The anniversary of Shane Warne’s death has been marked by touching tributes by family and friends still shocked ‘The King’ is gone.
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Tributes are flowing once again for Shane Warne, a year on from his passing.
The cricketing legend, nicknamed “The King”, died of a suspected heart attack in a Thailand hotel room a year ago, aged 52.
He was survived by his three children, Jackson, Summer and Brooke.
Since his passing, various memorials have been enacted, with the Great Southern Stand at his beloved Melbourne Cricket Ground renamed the “Shane Warne Stand” in his honour.
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He was given a state memorial service at the MCG which was attended by 55,000 people and watched by more than 1.5 million people.
Fox Cricket aired a tribute on Saturday morning, beginning with an interview with Robert Craddock reflecting on his career, ranging from his earliest days playing reserves football for St Kilda to the loftiest heights of Test cricket.
Jackson Warne posted a montage of clips to Instagram on Saturday, captioned “1 year ago today.”
“Miss you mate, love Jacko,” he wrote.
The montage ended with a clip from an interview with Warne, saying he wanted his tombstone to read “Loved by Brooke, Jackson and Summer.”
Summer Warne meanwhile shared two pictures to Instagram, alongside a heartfelt message.
“1 year ago, one of the people that I love most in the whole entire world left and went to heaven,” she wrote.
“I miss you just about every second of every day.
“I’m still trying to navigate life without you here, trying my best to live in a world without you in it.
“I miss you when I laugh and cry because you were always the one that made my laughter grow, and my tears disappear. I miss the memories we will never get to have.
“I hold you close within my heart, and there you you shall remain, until the day that we meet again.
“I love you. SJ.”
Warne was known for his relationships with celebrities and for his love of music, at one point playing a guest set with Coldplay courtesy of his friendship with lead singer Chris Martin.
Warne was also close friends with pop icon Ed Sheeran, who included a tribute during his Melbourne show on Thursday night in front of 105,000 people.
The 32-year-old took a moment during the show to dedicate his hit “The A Team” to “Shane and his kids.”
“Being in the MCG tonight and not having my friend Shane Warne here to watch this … I know this venue was really, really special to him,” Sheeran said.
Brooke Warne wrote on Instagram “Love you Ed and miss you Dad.”
“Thank you (Ed Sheeran) for being the best and always making us laugh.”
Sheeran also performed his iconic song Thinking Out Loud at Warne’s memorial in March from London.
“I’m so sorry I can’t be there,” he said at the time.
“Shane was an incredible human to me and every single person that he came across, and I’ve got such wonderful stories of him.
“People that he didn’t even know have wonderful stories of him – he gave so much of his time and energy and love.
“He was such a great bloke.”
Media and football personality Eddie McGuire told News Corp that Warne’s passing was “still really hard to fathom”.
“It’s almost like you expect him to walk in at any moment,” McGuire said.
“At times during the year, whether it’s something on the telly or a bit of commentary or somebody posts something about Warnie … you just remember what a light force he was of positivity and fun.
“One thing I always knew if I looked at my phone and there was a message from Warnie, I was either going to go and have one of the best nights of all time or one of the great stories of all time had just occurred.
“He was just such a wonderful person and we miss him.”
Darren Berry played alongside Warne for their native Victoria, and said the last year had been difficult.
“The world lost a great cricketer, but I’m still mourning the loss of one of my closest friends,” he said.
“We started cricket together for Victoria, we were both failed St Kilda footballers and we’d go to the games together … I really miss him and it’s been a difficult 12 months.”
Warne took 708 Test wickets, at the time at record for the most in the history of the sport, and played 145 Tests in a career that spanned from 1991 to 2007.
Warne revolutionised cricket with his mastery of leg spin, in the late 1980s a dying art with the popularity of fast bowling.
His most iconic moment was his very first ball on English soil in a Test match, now dubbed the Ball of the Century.
Originally published as Anniversary of Shane Warne’s death marked with tributes
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