Legendary Australian cricketer dies aged 52 after suspected heart attack

Warne has taken the second-most wickets in Test cricket, behind Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan.

Legendary Australian cricketer Shane Warne has died at the age of 52.

Warne died of a suspected heart attack while in Koh Samui, Thailand and Thai police said they are not treating his death as suspicious.

According to police, Warne was found by associates staying in the same villa, who tried to unsuccessfully revive him.

In a statement, his management team said: “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.”

Warne retired from international cricket in 2007, after a stellar career where he took 708 Test wickets in 145 matches.

He won the 1999 50-over World Cup and claimed 293 dismissals in 194 one-day internationals between 1993 and 2004.

Warne retired from international cricket in 2007 and he continued to play franchise Twenty20 cricket until 2013.

After retiring, the spinner worked as a cricket commentator and in various coaching roles, including with the London Spirit in the inaugural edition of The Hundred in 2021.

Warne has three children with his ex-wife Simone Callahan and he was briefly engaged to actress Elizabeth Hurley in 2011.

Warne had tweeted earlier on Friday to pay tribute to Rod Marsh following the former Australia wicketkeeper’s passing from a heart attack at the age of 74.

He took 708 test wickets, a tally surpassed only by Sri Lanka off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, who took 800.

He also had 293 wickets from 194 one-day internationals and won the man-of-the-match award when Australia beat Pakistan in the 1999 World Cup final.

Warne was also a handy late-order batsman. Though his test average was only 17.3 he took the role seriously and holds the record for the most test runs (3,154) without a century – his highest score being 99.

It was not all plain sailing, however, and his career was peppered with off-field controversy. He was punished for feeding information to a bookmaker, sending inappropriate text messages, and verbally abusing fellow players.

The wily spinner frequently courted controversy and served a 12-month ban after testing positive for banned diuretics in 2003.

His most serious offence came in 2003 when he failed a doping test for a diuretic on the eve of the World Cup and was banned from all cricket for a year – ruling him out of Australia’s defence of the trophy.

He returned from the layoff refreshed and revitalised, and in 2005 took an incredible 96 wickets through the year. His final test was at Sydney in 2007 when he took his 1,000th international wicket in all forms of the game.

He also played in the Indian Premier League and other Twenty20 competitions before retiring from all forms of cricket in 2013 but continued to be involved in the game as a broadcaster.

Tributes for ‘the man who made spin cool’

Tributes poured in for Warne from the cricketing world and beyond.

Ian Botham wrote on Twitter: “I’ve lost a great friend on and off the playing field. One of the best.”

Warne’s great Indian rival Sachin Tendulkar was “shocked, stunned & miserable” at the death of the Australian stalwart.

“Will miss you Warnie. There was never a dull moment with you around, on or off the field. Will always treasure our on field duels & off field banter. You always had a special place for India & Indians had a special place for you.,” Tendulkar wrote on Twitter.

West Indies batting great Viv Richards also paid his tribute on Twitter.

“Unbelievable. I am shocked to the core. This can’t be true … Rest In Peace, @ShaneWarne. There are no words to describe what I feel right now. A huge loss for cricket,” he wrote.

Cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle said: “I was lucky enough to know him well. The magic will stay forever.”

Source: MarkMeets news agency