Inside Shane Warne’s incredible fundraising efforts that endeared him to a nation

For all his legendary on-field achievements, Shane Warne’s most important act as a cricketer came off the field in Sri Lanka as his brother, Jason, reveals.

Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan before the charity cricket match to raise money for tsunami victims.

Jason Warne on Monday made an emotional visit to the site where his brother Shane not only endeared himself to the entire nation of Sri Lanka but turned from on-field villain to a national hero.

In the wake of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami the Test legend reached out to his long-time rival, Sri Lankan great Muttiah Muralitharan to see what he could do to help a country where, Jason revealed, he first truly felt like a Test cricketer after bowling Australia to victory in 1992 in Colombo.

Muralitharan told him “just being here will help” so Warne travelled to Seenigama, just north of Galle, which had been nearly wiped out by the tsunami leaving villages destroyed and children orphaned six weeks earlier.

It was also the site of the Foundation of Goodness, a burgeoning community school project set up by and still run by Murali’s long-time manager, Kushil Gunasekera.

Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan before the charity cricket match to raise money for tsunami victims.

Warne was among the first international visitors in to Seenigama and the images of his visit, inspecting the devastation, playing with cricket-mad kids and helping hand out aid, went around the world and sparked a wave of donations to both the foundation and the country.

Continued fundraising by Warne, which included attending galas for the foundation as well as raising more than $1 million to help rebuild the Galle cricket stadium, where the current series is being played, ensured his revered status among the people of Sri Lanka.

The foundation also grew on the back of Warne’s visit, which Gunasekera said created “waves of compassion that flowed across Australia”, so much so there are now more than a dozen centres scattered around the country educating rural children as well as giving them access to sporting programs.

Graduates have gone on to play multiple sports form Sri Lanka including current test star, Ramesh Mendis, who took four Australian wickets in the opening test last week.

Jason Warne’s note.

“All of these connections and that networking would not have been possible unless Shane visited at the time, six weeks after the tsunami,” Gunasekera.

Since Warne’s tragic passing in March, Jason has been continually “blown away” by the amount of people who have revealed the depth of help his brother offered to similar foundations and charities around the world.

That included a revelation at Warne’s MCG funeral that he had joined the United Nations wildlife fund, Lion’s Share, and they would create Shane Warne conservation grants “to honour his memory in a manner that does justice to the person he was”.

Invited to Sri Lanka to be part of several tributes to his brother as the two teams play for the Warne-Muralitharan trophy, Jason said visiting the foundation showed the impact he had on so many.

“It’s been pretty emotional really,” Jason said.

Jason Warne visits the Foundation of Goodness in Sri Lanka.

“We’re here because of what Shane did back in 2004 and it’s been great to come and get a sense of why he wanted to do it.

“You can see what sort of devastation the tsunami would have caused here. I now get a really good sense of why Shane was moved to come and do something.

“And to see what the Foundation of goodness has become, he brought a lot of support in from Australia, and to see how that has been developed and what it is today is pretty special, it really is. It’s always been a special place to him.”

When Warne passed away, Murali also made it clear the impact his friend had on his country which lost 31,000 people to the tsunami, but also had to rebuild so much of the country.

“I can’t forget the way in which he supported the Foundation of Goodness post-tsunami to set up the platform towards creating awareness for rebuilding, reconstruction and rehabilitation,” Murali said.

“Visiting Seenigama when we both partnered to enrich humanity.