Legendary Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne, one of the greatest cricketers of all time, has died of a suspected heart attack aged 52.
Shane Warne had been found unresponsive in his villa on the Thai island of Koh Samui on Friday, said his management company. “It is with great sadness we advise that Shane Keith Warne passed away of a suspected heart attack,” they said and added, “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.” Shane Warne is survived by his three children with former wife Simone Callahan.
Shane Warne’s Cricket Career
Warne’s talent of leg-spin – a style of bowling that declined during the 1970s and 1980s when fast bowlers dominated – revolutionized cricket and his exquisite control and canny variations bewildered even the greatest batters of his generation. Only Sri Lankan off-spinning great Muttiah Muralitharan, with 800 dismissals, has taken more Test wickets than Warne.
Warne took 708 Test wickets, the second most of all time, in 145 matches across a stellar 15-year international career and helped Australia win the 1999 50-over World Cup and claimed 293 dismissals in 194 one-day internationals between 1993 and 2005.
He retired from international cricket in 2007 following Australia’s 5-0 Ashes clean sweep of England at home.
Warne also retired from first-class and List A cricket later that year, ending a five-year spell with Hampshire, who he had captained since 2004.
He continued to play Twenty20 franchise cricket until retiring from all formats in 2013.
Warne worked regularly as a commentator and pundit, as well as holding coaching roles at T20 franchises. He was also a fine slip fielder and capable lower-order batter, scoring 3,154 runs at an average of 17.32, and is the only batter in Test history to overtake 3,000 runs without making a century-falling for 99 twice, against New Zealand in 2001 and against England in 2005.
Warne also holds the record for the most Ashes wickets in history, with 195 dismissals in 36 Tests.
He made his Test debut against India in 1992 after only seven first-class matches for his native Victoria but announced himself on the world stage in astonishing style in the 1993 Ashes in England.
With his first ball of the series, Warne bowled England batter Mike Gatting with a stunning delivery that pitched outside leg stump and clipped the top of off stump.
It became widely known as the ‘ball of the century.
That was the first of six Ashes victories in a row involving Warne, until the run was ended by England’s famous 2-1 win in 2005, despite the leg-spinner taking a staggering 40 wickets in that series.
World Cup and domestic honors
Warne was a key part of Australia’s run to the 1996 World Cup final, where they were beaten by Sri Lanka.
He became vice-captain under Steve Waugh and starred in the 1999 World Cup triumph, being named man of the match after taking 4-33 in the final against Pakistan.
However, he was sent home the day before the 2003 tournament started after testing positive for a banned diuretic and served a one-year ban from the sport.
Australia would go on to win the 2003 World Cup by beating India.
Warne led Australia 11 times in ODIs but never captained the Test team, with batter Ricky Ponting replacing Waugh.
Warne captained Hampshire during a spell with the county from 2000 to 2007 and they named a stand after him at their Ageas Bowl ground in 2012.
Under Warne, Hampshire won the one-day Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy in 2005.
He played his entire domestic career in Australia for Victoria.
Cricket lost another great legend and a great human being who inculcated the unique spin bowling style that cricket fans adored, the backbone of Australian cricket, a great star who will be missed forever. Rest in Peace.
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