Australian cricket legend, Shane Warne, was found unresponsive in his hotel room in Thailand following a suspected heart attack. Video / AP / Getty / NZ Herald
One of cricket's greatest ever players, Shane Warne, has died aged 52 after a suspected heart attack in Thailand.
Warne, a flamboyant showman on and off the field, was found unconscious in his bedroom at a Thai resort - and could not be revived despite heroic efforts by friends.
His manager James Erskine released a statement on Saturday morning confirming the former Test leg-spinner had passed away late on Friday night (NZT).
"Shane was found unresponsive in his villa and despite the best efforts of medical staff, he could not be revived," the statement read. "The family requests privacy at this time and will provide further details in due course."
Warne was on holiday in the Koh Samui resort and reports are emerging of the heroic attempts by a group of four friends to save him.
One of the friends found Warne unresponsive in the villa as he tried to wake him for food about 5pm local time (11pm NZT), police said.
The friends performed CPR on him for about 20 minutes before an ambulance arrived and took Warne to the Thai International Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Police Senior Sergeant Major Suporn Hemruangsree told the Daily Mail: "Police received a report about somebody who died at the Thai International Hospital so we went and asked the hotel, and found out that the deceased was with four other friends and died in the room.
"In the villa, the people were sleeping in separate rooms. They were sleeping from afternoon to evening, until about 5pm.
"At 5pm somebody came to call out this person for dinner but the deceased did not respond so they called three other friends to perform CPR for 20 minutes. They waited for the ambulance to come.
"The doctor announced the death of the person at 6:53pm. Police went and checked the room and there was no sign of intrusion or possessions being searched through. The body was sent for an autopsy at Koh Samui Hospital."
Tributes are flowing across the world for Warne, who is survived by three children: Jackson, Brooke and Summer.
Devastated former New Zealand cricket captain Brendon McCullum is among many paying tribute to one of the greatest cricketers of all time. In a tweet, McCullum wrote: "Please no... heartbroken. Already miss 'The King'."
Please no 😢….heartbroken. Already miss “The King” 💔
Warne is regarded as one of the finest cricketers in history, claiming 708 Test wickets at 25.41 in 145 matches between 1992 and 2007. No Australian has taken more international wickets than the Victorian.
He was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2013, and was named one of Wisden's Five Cricketers of the Century, alongside Sir Donald Bradman, Sir Garfield Sobers, Sir Jack Hobbs and Sir Vivian Richards.
— Cricket on BT Sport (@btsportcricket) March 4, 2022
Warne's death comes less than 24 hours after another Australian cricket legend, wicketkeeper Rod Marsh, passed away aged 74, having suffered a heart attack in Queensland last week.
"Sad to hear the news that Rod Marsh has passed," Warne tweeted on Friday morning. "He was a legend of our great game & an inspiration to so many young boys & girls.
"Rod cared deeply about cricket & gave so much especially to Australia & England players.
"Sending lots & lots of love to Ros & the family. RIP mate."
Warne was credited with reviving the art of leg-spin – his career tally of 708 Test wickets was surpassed only by Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan with 800.
Australian opener David Warner tweeted: "Two legends of our game have left us too soon. I'm lost for words, and this is extremely sad. My thoughts and prayers go out to the Marsh and Warne family. I just cannot believe it. #rip, you will both be missed.
Shane pictured with his son Jackson Warne at the Twilight Beach Polo on February 05, 2022 in St Kilda, Australia. Photo / Getty
Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley statement
"Shane was one of the most talented and charismatic cricketers we have ever witnessed. He loved cricket, had an extraordinarily astute understanding of the game and his influence and legacy will last for as long as it is played.
"Wisden named him as one of the five cricketers of the twentieth century and he was rightly placed alongside the names of Bradman, Hobbs, Sobers and Vivian Richards.
"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."
Statement from Australian Test captain Pat Cummins
"On behalf of the entire playing group and support staff here in Pakistan, I want to express our shock and sadness over Shane's sudden passing. We are all numbed by the news.
"Shane was a once-in-a-century cricketer and his achievements will stand for all time, but apart from the wickets he took and the games he helped Australia win, what he did was
Test captain Pat Cummins reacts to the shock news of Shane Warne's passing.
"So many of us in the playing group grew up idolising him and fell in love with this great sport as a result, while many of our support staff either played with him or against him.
"It has been a terrible couple of days for Australian cricket with the passing of Rod Marsh and now Shane. Our thoughts are with both families and, in Shane's case, particularly with his parents Keith and Bridgette, his brother Jason and his children Jackson, Summer and Brooke.
"The game of cricket was never the same after Shane emerged, and it will never be the same now he has gone. Rest in peace King."
Life of a legend - rare flamboyance and excitement
Shane Warne, the Australian cricketer who has died of a heart attack aged 52, was perhaps the greatest leg break bowler – or even spinner tout court – in the history of cricket; indeed, in 2000 he was chosen by Wisden as one of the five outstanding players of the 20th century.
In 145 Test matches between 1992 and 2007 Warne took 708 wickets at 25.14 apiece. At the time of his retirement this was the highest number of victims ever achieved, albeit soon overtaken by Muttiah Muralitharan. To this tally may be added another 293 wickets in one-day internationals, bringing his total victims at the highest level over the thousand mark.
Yet statistics, however impressive, fail to do Warne justice. There was a flamboyance and excitement about his bowling, symbolised by the first ball he ever sent down against England, in 1993.
Shane Warne made his test debut for Australia in 1992 while sporting frosted tips, multiple necklaces and a slathering of zinc on his nose. Photo / Getty
This was a perfect delivery, drifting in to pitch outside the leg stump and then breaking back viciously off the pitch to hit the top of the off-stump. The batsman, Mike Gatting, was a fine player of spin; on this occasion, however, he seemed unable to comprehend what had happened to him. From that moment Warne was always attended by a sense of infinite possibility. The greater the occasion, the more likely that he would rise to it.
His success, moreover, made international cricket far more entertaining. During the 1970s and 1980s Test matches were often grim wars of attrition against fast bowling, with only Abdul Qadir of Pakistan making much impact as a leg-break bowler.
Absolutely devastated to hear that @ShaneWarne has died from a heart attack aged just 52. He was a genius cricketer, a supreme entertainer, a fantastic bloke and a great loyal friend for many years. Just gutting news. RIP Warnie, I loved every minute in your company. pic.twitter.com/RCUGuTU4Gm
Warne's triumphs once again brought subtlety and craft to the forefront of the game. His overs might take a considerable time for a spin bowler, due to his extended essays in gamesmanship. But they were never dull.
His action began in a walk. Then two quicker steps, during the first of which he transferred the ball from his left to his right hand, brought him to the sideways delivery stride. His rhythmical and controlled action sent the ball on its way from a highish arm.
The vicious spin came from exceptional strength in his shoulder, arm and wrist. That, however, would have counted for little if Warne had not also succeeded in developing a degree of accuracy rarely matched by other leg-break bowlers.
Furthermore his stamina, seemingly undimmed by his love of smoking and junk food, allowed him to bowl all day. He proved particularly adept at winning matches with irresistible performances in the fourth innings.
The most important factors in Warne's success, however, were his mental strength and his unflagging competitive spirit. These qualities were the positive side of his brashness and vulgarity off the pitch. Aware that, for leg-spinners in particular, confidence is the key to success, he succeeded brilliantly in keeping negative thoughts at bay.
This was a deliberate set of mind, developed notwithstanding a startlingly unsuccessful start in Test cricket, which would surely have shattered a weaker character. His optimism, however, proved as indestructible as his energy.
Even when a batsman – a Tendulkar, a Lara or a Pietersen – mastered him, Warne would never concede the fact. Rather, he would speak of having developed a new plan, claiming to think six balls ahead in the manner of a great chess player.
In his ceaseless battle for mental ascendancy he would elaborate on unplayable deliveries which he had just invented. The reality, though, was that he depended almost entirely on the leg-break (albeit with many different degrees of spin) and the "flipper", which, by imparting backspin, caused the ball to skid through low after bouncing.
Warne never learnt to bowl a reliably accurate or well-disguised googly, and used this delivery sparingly, especially after his shoulder began to give him trouble. He had more success with the "slider", which would hurry on to the batman without spin.
Less admirably, Warne was a serial sledger. Occasionally he seemed positively manic in his intensity, as when he dismissed the South African batsman Andrew Hudson in 1994, and sent him packing with a volley of obscenities.
At the same time, though, he was one of the few Australian players of his era prepared to fraternise with the opposition off the pitch. And increasingly, as his career progressed, he would acknowledge good shots against his bowling. His character, in short, was a curious mix of calculation and friendliness, boorishness and generosity, intelligence and stupidity
Again and again involved in crude sexual scandal, he would talk wholly convincingly of his delight in his children and his marriage. Determined to maintain his competitive edge on the pitch, he would nevertheless give tips to other leg-spinners, such as Mushtaq Ahmed of Pakistan, to whom he imparted the secrets of the flipper.
But then he had been brought up to be a polite boy. And if he wanted to succeed at all costs, he also – and only slightly less – wanted to be liked.
Shane Keith Warne was born on September 13 1969 in the suburb of Ferntree Gully on the east side of Melbourne. His father, Keith, an insurance consultant, had already attained a moderate prosperity. His mother Brigitte, whose German family had emigrated to Australia after the Second World War, was described as "brash, lively and full of fun". Certainly she would revel in her son's sporting triumphs.
Yet she also possessed a conventional side, which ensured that Shane and his younger brother Jason were made aware of the importance of good manners. It was a lesson which Shane never entirely forgot. Later in his life, those who expected to meet a gross Australian were often surprised by his politeness.
The Warnes moved several times in Shane's childhood, before settling at Black Rock in Port Phillip Bay, on the south-west side of Melbourne. There the family became known for their zest and friendliness.
Shane's parents, both natural athletes, encouraged their boys to try all kinds of sports – among them swimming, tennis and cricket. But it was Australian Rules football that became Shane's over-riding obsession.
After spells at Sandringham Primary and Hampton High Schools, at 15 Warne won a sports scholarship to Mentone Grammar School. He never showed any interest in academic work, and at the age of 30 declared that he had never in his life finished a book. Teachers remembered him a lovable rogue, always in the thick of the latest prank.
Immediately after leaving school he signed a trial contract to join the St Kilda Saints, an Australian Rules club. He dreamed of emulating such Australian Rules icons as Dermott Brereton, who wore an earring, dyed his hair peroxide blonde and drove a Ferrari. But 18 months later Warne was bitterly disappointed not to be offered a full professional contract; in the event he would adopt the style of his heroes, but in quite another context.
Up to the age of 18 he had shown only moderate interest in cricket. He had been recommended to St Kilda's CC as "quite good as a batsman", and had also toyed with bowling, sometimes as a medium-pace, sometimes as a spinner.
Stocky and overweight, he did not appear as an athlete of any kind. Yet it became increasingly evident that, notwithstanding his stubby little hands, he possessed an extraordinary capacity to spin the ball.
This may have been partly due to an accident Warne had suffered aged eight, when another boy had jumped upon him and broken both his legs. For a year Warne had to push himself around in a cart, developing extraordinary strength in his upper body.
Yet by 1988-89 he still had not progressed beyond St Kilda's second XI. In 1989 he went to England, where he played for the Bristol Imperials and spent so much time in pubs that he had gained three stone by the time of his return. As a warning he was demoted to the St Kilda third XI. Not even Warne himself, preternaturally cocky, would have ventured that he was but three years away from playing for Australia.
By the end of 1989, however, he was in better shape physically, and playing regularly for the club's first XI. News spread in Melbourne cricketing circles that St Kilda's possessed a leg-break bowler of exceptional potential.
The global cricketing community is poorer today with the passing away of Australian great Shane Warne. The BCCI mourns the loss of the champion cricketer who enriched the game with his craft. pic.twitter.com/ZXiRUTr5eJ
Australians have always been far more eager than the English to bring on rare sporting talent, however undeveloped. Warne was invited to join the nets run by the state of Victoria. Shortly afterwards he was given a place in Australia's national cricket academy, based in Adelaide.
To some it seemed that Warne made a hash of this great opportunity. Among fellow students his exhibitionist ways resulted in the nicknames "Showbags" and "Hollywood". He showed no enthusiasm for attempts to impose discipline or fitness; openly despised some of his instructors; and got into trouble for his crude pranks.
When, after nine months, he declared that he was leaving the national academy in order to return to Victoria, there were certainly those who were far from sorry to see him go.
Nevertheless, the experience had been invaluable for Warne. First, the knowledge of his phenomenal ability to spin the ball had penetrated into Australia's cricketing elite. Secondly, he acquired Terry Jenner and Ian Chappell as mentors.
In particular Jenner, a leg-break bowler who had played nine times for Australia in the 1970s, gained Warne's complete respect. Not only did Jenner prove a superb technical coach, but he also helped to maintain the young bowler's confidence, and remained a vital support throughout his career.
Warne's first-class debut, for Victoria against Western Australia in February 1991, brought him but one wicket at a cost of 101 runs. Nor did his ear-stud, long, bleached hair, and excess weight impress the Victorian selectors, who immediately dropped him.
In the English summer that year he found employment with Accrington in the Lancashire League. But though he took 73 wickets, there was no rush to re-engage him for the following summer.
He was, however, selected for an Australia "B" team which toured Zimbabwe in September 1991, and bowled his side to victory with figures of seven for 49 in a match at Harare. Equally important, he made his mark with fellow tourists such as Mark Taylor and Steve Waugh.
Warne had taken no more than eight wickets at 45 apiece in four games for Victoria when, in December 1991, he was chosen to play for an Australian XI against the West Indies. He did not waste the opportunity, returning match figures of seven for 56. One of his victims, moreover, was Brian Lara.
And so, after just seven first-class games, Warne was included in Australia's side to play India at Sydney in January 1992. For once, however, he did not rise to the occasion, taking one for 150 from 45 overs. After following up in the next Test with figures of nought for 18 and nought for 60, he was dropped.
At this even Warne experienced doubts: "I did not think that I was good enough to play in such elevated company and at that level." Indeed, on returning to Melbourne he discovered that he could no longer command a place in the Victoria team.
Again he worked to reduce his weight, from 15 stones to just over 13. The Australian selectors, for their part, true to their policy of giving every chance to those they had once picked for Test cricket, chose him for the short tour of Sri Lanka in August 1992.
In the first Test, at Colombo, the run of disaster continued, as Warne returned an analysis of nought for 107 in Sri Lanka's first innings. His Test bowling average was now 335, and his morale seriously fractured.
In Sri Lanka's second innings he was taken off after one over, which cost 11 runs. The batting side seemed well placed when with four wickets standing they required only 36 for victory.
Shane Warne and Ian Healy celebrate the dismissal of New Zealand's Ken Rutherford in 1995. Photo / Photosport
At this point Allan Border, the Australian captain, confounded expectation by putting on Warne. The leg-spinner restored his nerves with a maiden; then, turning the ball fiercely out of the rough, claimed a victim caught at slip. "Well done, mate," his team-mate Dean Jones told him, "your average is now 230."
Actually it was 173, and soon 86 as Warne snapped up the last two wickets to secure Australia victory by 16 runs. "I felt I had finally contributed," he reflected. "But I didn't feel like I belonged."
In fact he did not play in the second Test, and failed to take a wicket in the third. Nor, later in the year, was he chosen for the first Test at home against the West Indies.
In Sri Lanka, however, Warne had worked hard with Australia's coach Bobby Simpson, who helped to improve his accuracy, and encouraged him to extract maximum profit from his extraordinary ability to spin the ball by pitching on or outside the leg stump. Simpson also opened up the possibility of bowling round the wicket.
The real turning point in Warne's career came when, recalled at the end of 1992 for the second Test at Melbourne, he ripped out the West Indies in their second innings, taking seven for 52.
A minute silence held in Antigua for Shane Warne ❤️
— England’s Barmy Army (@TheBarmyArmy) March 4, 2022
From this point Warne felt that he had established himself in Test cricket, and his confidence became unassailable. Just as important, Allan Border also believed in him; during his last five series in charge Warne would average 65 overs per Test.
Early in 1993 Warne consolidated his new status by taking 17 wickets in a three-match series in New Zealand. But it was in England that summer that the legend was born. The extraordinary dismissal of Mike Gatting proved the first of 34 victims he took in that Ashes campaign, when he was named Man of the Series.
Warne went on to be Australia's leading wicket-taker in six successive series. His accuracy during this time was remarkable, and rewarded by a high percentage of maidens. "The best I ever bowled," he considered at the end of his career, "was between 1993 and 1998, just spinning the leg break as far as I could."
Sponsors, among them Just Jeans, Sony and Nike, flocked to gain his endorsement, making him into a rich young man.
By February 1998 he had taken 303 Test wickets, including 84 in just three series against England. Outstanding performances included match analyses of 12 for 129 against South Africa at Sydney in 1994; 11 for 110 against England at Brisbane in 1994; and 11 for 109 against South Africa at Sydney in 1998.
Gradually, though, the strain of his marathon spells began to tell. From 1995 Warne experienced increasingly severe problems with his shoulder and third finger, with which he imparted his fierce spin.
Shane Warne and New Zealand golfer Ryan Fox talk during their round on Day Four of The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews in Scotland on October 3, 2021. Photo / Getty
In 1996 he underwent surgery on the finger. On his return to the game it seemed stiff. "Worryingly," he later wrote, "bowling just didn't seem the same." On his return to the Australian side, against West Indies in November 1996, his control was good as ever; he seemed unable, however, to conjure his former fierce spin.
Confidence was somewhat restored in the next Test, and once more Warne settled into long spells of productive bowling. In 1997-98 his 20 wickets in three Tests against South Africa made him Man of the Series.
His shoulder, however, remained a problem, and after a hard season at home, he should never have travelled to India for another three-match series in March 1998.
For the first time his reputation was punctured as the Indian batsmen, led by Sachin Tendulkar, hit him all over the ground. Warne finished the series with 10 wickets at 54 apiece in the three-match series. On returning to Australia he immediately underwent a shoulder operation.
He returned to Test cricket at Sydney in January 1999, for the fifth Test against England. He bowled well enough, but it must have worried him that Stuart MacGill, the leg-break bowler who had taken his place in the Australian side in his absence, performed far better, taking 12 wickets in that Test.
In fact, in the 17 Tests they played together, MacGill nearly always outbowled Warne. In the West Indies in 1998-99 Warne failed dismally, and found himself dropped for the fourth and last Test in Antigua. Since returning from his shoulder injury he had captured only four wickets in four Tests, at 92.25 apiece. If he had recovered physically, mentally he appeared shattered. It seemed that a great career was finished.
To make matters worse, in December 1998, it became publicly known that, four years before, Warne had accepted US$5,000 from an Indian bookmaker in Sri Lanka. His insistence that in return he had given nothing more than information about the pitch, the weather and the Australian team selection, hardly seemed adequate to repair the damage.
Andrew Strauss was an infamous Shane Warne victim on a number of occasions. This story is great pic.twitter.com/QhGPCzWVML
The matter had been hushed up by the Australian Board, who let Warne off lightly with a fine of A$5,000. His fellow countrymen, however, were very much less forgiving when they finally learnt about the scandal. Even Warne's bravery in having denounced the Pakistan captain, Salim Malik, for attempting to bribe him to underperform in September 1994 now seemed tarred with hypocrisy.
So, in 1998-99, while Warne was struggling to recapture his confidence and form on the pitch, he found himself pilloried in the Australian press as either a crook or a fool. Suddenly sponsors were very much less eager to employ him.
His cricketing decline was apparently confirmed during the early stages of the World Cup of 1999, played in England. His bowling was being badly mauled, and morale was not improved by tabloid headlines about his affair with a porn star. Halfway through the tournament he was talking about retirement.
Then, in the semi-final, he suddenly pulled off one of the greatest performances of his career.
After dismissing Australia for 213, South Africa seemed to be well on the way to victory as their opening batsmen, Gary Kirsten and Herschelle Gibbs, put on 48 without difficulty. Close to desperation, Steve Waugh called up Warne.
His second ball, a replica of the extraordinary delivery that had dismissed Mike Gatting six years before, bowled the dangerous Herschelle Gibbs. Suddenly Warne knew that he could rip his leg-break again in the old style. "That single delivery," he wrote, "restored all the confidence that had been slipping away in the previous weeks."
Heartbroken to wake to news of the death of @ShaneWarne - heart was what he was all about; a huge heart and, of course, matchlessly dazzling skill with a cricket ball. He single-handedly (wristedly) put the art of spin back where it belonged - at the top of cricket. A true great
He bowled brilliantly, adding Gary Kirsten, Hansie Cronje and Jacques Kallis to his list of victims, and conceding only 29 runs in his 10 overs. These figures would have been even better if Shaun Pollock had not hit him for a four and a six in his last over.
The match ended in a thrilling tie, and Australia went through to the final against Pakistan at Lord's on the strength of their better record earlier in the tournament. For the second game in succession Warne was voted Man of the Match as Australia romped home.
In Tests his run of wickets now resumed at something like the rate of his prime. In March 2000 he at last overhauled Dennis Lillee's record of 355 wickets for Australia. Tellingly, though, this mark was reached more than two years after his 300th victim in 1998.
Yet Warne seemed to have no thought of giving himself a rest. In 2000 he turned out for Hampshire in the County Championship, taking 70 wickets at 23.14. Less satisfactorily, that summer Warne lost his position as Australia's vice-captain (under Steve Waugh) after a scandal involving lewd telephone conversations with a nurse.
The incident put paid to any possibility that he might captain Australia. Yet the Waugh-Warne combination had led Australia to victory in 10 successive Tests. And when Warne had taken over the leadership in one-day internationals Australia won 10 out of 11 games. In purely cricket terms there was no doubt about his resourcefulness and inspiration as a leader.
Shane Warne dismisses Black Caps batsman Nathan Astle to reach 600 first class wickets in March, 2000. Photo / Photosport
In 2001 Warne seemed back to his best form, claiming 31 victims in the Ashes series in England, including a haul of 11 wickets at the Oval. If he spun the ball less, and sent down more loose deliveries, he now combined subtle degrees of turn with the instinct of a master strategist. The technical maestro was transmogrifying into a theatrical magician.
Still, though, the Indians proved his nemesis, whether in Australia in 1999-2000, or at home in 2000-01, when his bowling average again exceeded 50. By contrast in two three-match series against South Africa in 2001-02, he helped himself to 37 wickets. And Pakistan had no answer to his wiles in October 2002.
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.
Soon afterwards Warne seemed as effective as ever in helping Australia to retain the Ashes in just three Tests and nine playing days. A dislocated shoulder, however, put him out of the rest of the series.
Then, in February 2003, on the eve of the World Cup, Warne was informed that he had failed a drugs test. The Australian Cricket Board deemed his evidence in defence "vague, inconsistent and unsatisfactory", yet once more showed leniency in restricting its punishment to a one-year ban from the game.
Again, Warne's reputation in Australia plummeted, as critics pounced on his stupidity and vanity; and he did not help himself by trying to blame his mother. During his ban, moreover, there were more tales of sexual shenanigans.
Many imagined that his career was now at an end, but Warne, with further records in view, was determined to carry on. Indeed he regarded his ban as a much-needed rest that would prolong his career. Before playing again he even trained.
His comeback was marked in style. In March 2004 he was nominated Man of the Series after taking 26 wickets in three Tests against Sri Lanka. He then returned to Hampshire as captain, inspiring them to promotion to the First Division.
At the end of the year, he even succeeded at last in doing himself some justice in India. Australia won the series and Warne surpassed Courtney Walsh's record total of 519 Test wickets.
Subsequent performances against New Zealand and Pakistan took him to a total of 583. In 2005 the prospect of another Ashes series did not deter Warne from leading Hampshire in the early part of the season.
That summer his wife decided that she must leave him. Yet Warne was able to set domestic difficulties aside in the five Tests, and take 40 wickets out of the 93 that fell to Australian bowlers, albeit at an economy rate of 3.1 per over as compared to the 2.6 he had conceded over his previous Test career.
He also did well with the bat, in particular hitting a vital 90 at Old Trafford. Cruelly, though, having almost single-handedly kept Australia in the series, he dropped Kevin Pietersen at slip when he was on 15 in England's second innings at the Oval. Pietersen went on to make 158 and secure the Ashes.
In general Warne could be relied upon to snap up slip chances. It was tribute enough to his enduring powers, however, that in the fourth innings of the fourth Test, with England requiring only 129 to win, Warne quickly took wickets with a unique swagger that seemed to suggest an Australian victory was not just possible, it was probable. Fear ran through the England order, but they crept home.
He played on, and gained revenge as Australia trounced England 5-0 in the Ashes series of 2006-07. In the second match, at Adelaide, Warne completely paralysed England in their second innings, taking four for 49 from 32 overs.
After the Ashes had been regained in the third match, Warne announced that he would be retiring from Test cricket at the end of the series. The fourth match proved a triumphant farewell to his native Melbourne as he bundled out England in their first innings with figures of five for 39.
Yet he still remained faithful to Hampshire, continuing to captain the county in 2006 and 2007, on both occasions bringing them close to the championship.
In all Warne played in 301 first-class matches between February 1991 and September 2007, taking 1,319 wickets at an average of 26.11. His strike rate was 56.73, and his economy rate 2.76 per over.
He also presented a rare example of a leg-spinner whose accuracy made him an asset in one-day cricket. Over 193 one-day internationals his 293 wickets came at a cost of 25.73 per wicket. His strike rate was 36.32, and he conceded an average of 4.25 runs per over.
Warne adopted a simple attitude to batting: "I just want to hit the ball as far, as hard and as often as I can." Yet he became more successful as he grew older. He made 12 Test scores of 50 or over, his best being 99 against New Zealand at Perth in 2001. (Typically, he tried to reach his hundred with a gigantic slog.) In all he scored 3,154 runs in Tests – more than anyone else who had never scored a century – at an average of 17.32.
Altogether in first-class cricket he reached a total of 6,919 runs, averaging 19.43. In May 2005 he at last reached three figures (and in only 72 balls) when he plundered the Kent attack for 107. A few weeks later he repeated the act, when he hit 101 off Middlesex in 79 balls.
Still only 38 early in 2008, Warne signed a lucrative contract with the Rajasthan Royals, a team he led to victory in the first tournament of the Indian Premier League. But over the next three years he was markedly less successful. In 2011-12 he turned out for the Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League.
In retirement he did well as a jokey but highly perceptive cricket commentator. But in 2009 a television chat show, Warnie, closed before the end of its projected run. The Shane Warne Foundation raised money for ill and underprivileged children, mainly through poker tournaments.
Warne's personality remained proof against a continuous burble of sexual scandal, frequently connected with his compulsion to send explicitly sexual text messages. At the end of 2010 he began an affair with the actress Liz Hurley. The following year they announced their engagement, only to call it off in 2013.
Shane Warne married Simone Callahan (divorced 2005) in 1995. They had a son and two daughters.
Shane Warne, born September 13 1969, death announced March 5, 2022 - Daily Telegraph UK, News Ltd Australia, agencies
