By Tom Decent and Andrew Wu
One of Australia’s greatest ever cricketers, Shane Warne, has died of a suspected heart attack.
He was 52.
Warne’s manager, James Erskine, confirmed in a statement to the Herald and The Age that Warne died in Thailand.
“It is with great sadness we advise that Shane Keith Warne passed away of a suspected heart attack in Koh Samui, Thailand today, Friday 4th March,” the statement says.
“Shane was found unresponsive in his villa and, despite the best efforts of medical staff, he could not be revived. The family requests privacy at this time and will provide further details in due course.”
Victorian leg-spinner Shane Warne ahead of his Test debut in 1992.Credit: Archives
Warne, the greatest leg-spinner of all-time, took 708 Test wickets in a glittering 145-Test career.
The Victorian revolutionised the way the game was played and inspired a generation of cricketers.
Perhaps Warne’s finest – and most memorable moment – was his “ball of the century”; a big turning leg break that bowled England batsman Mike Gatting with the Australian spinner’s first ball in Test cricket on English soil.
He is second to Muttiah Muralitharan on the all-time wickets tally in Test cricket. In 2000, Warne was voted by Wisden as one of the five greatest cricketers of the 20th century. He took more than 1000 international wickets.
Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan in 2005.Credit: Vince Caligiuri
Cricket Australia released a statement on Saturday morning.
“Australian cricket, along with the whole cricketing world, is in a state of shock at the loss of Shane Warne, a true cricketing genius,” the statement read.
“Warne almost single-handedly reinvented the art of leg-spin when he burst onto the international scene in the early 1990s, and by the time he retired from international cricket in 2007 he had become the first bowler to reach 700 Test wickets.
“Shane’s strength of character and enormous resilience saw him bounce back from career-threatening finger and shoulder injuries, and his stamina, his sheer will to win, and his self-belief were key factors in Australia’s great side of the late 1990s and early 2000s.”
Australian captain Pat Cummins also issued a statement, hours after Australia walked off the field in Rawalpindi after day one of the first Test against Pakistan.
CA chief executive Nick Hockley, also in Pakistan, said: “We are in a state of complete shock at his sudden passing and our thoughts are with his family, his many friends and the legion of fans from all over the world who loved and admired Warnie for his unbelievable bowling skills, his humour, warmth and engaging personality.”
A hugely popular figure, Warne was employed by Fox Sports as a commentator in the recent Ashes summer.
Warne debuted in 1992 for Australia against India and retired in 2007 after a 5-0 Ashes series whitewash against England.
Warne’s final tweet was paying respect to the family of Rod Marsh, who died this week.
News of Warne’s death will send reverberations around the cricketing world and there has already been an enormous reaction of shock on social media.
Former teammates and cricketing icons paid their respects in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Australian batsman Steve Smith posted on his Instagram story: “Hard to fathom that we’ve lost 2 Australian legends within 24 hours. My thoughts are with the family. RIP Shane.”
Former Pakistan great Shoaib Akhtar said: “I’ve just heard [the] devastating news, shocking news, one of the greats of the game, Shane Warne, has passed away. I am not breaking this news but I am just deeply saddened to learn that he is no more with us. One of the best human beings I ever came across.”
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