England star Ben Stokes has paid a glowing tribute to Shane Warne following his death, describing the Aussie great as the ‘king’ and a ‘legend’.
Warne’s death was announced on Friday, with the 52-year-old suffering from a heart attack in his villa in Thailand.
In a statement Warne’s management team confirmed his passing, confirming: “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.”
The spin bowler is recognised as one of the greatest cricketers to ever play the sport, picking up a remarkable 708 Test wickets, leaving him as Australia’s most successful bowler and the second highest of all time behind Muttiah Muralitharan.
Unsurprisingly tributes have flooded in from across the globe, including from England's Stokes, who took to Twitter to write a glowing sentiment.
The all-rounder tweeted: “Australian Legend @rajasthanroyals Legend.
“Was an honour to know you and work with you This man is a LEGEND #theking”
Stokes was not the only England international to pay tribute to Warne, as his sentiments were also echoed by his national teammate Liam Livingstone.
In an emotional post on Twitter, Livingstone described the Australian as his ‘idol’ and revealed Warne was in fact the reason he wears 23 on his playing shirt, on the day the Lancastrian received his shirt number for the 2022 season.
What are your greatest memories of the great Warne? Let us know in the comments section below.
An emotional Livingstone wrote: “The day I get my kit, with my new squad number…
“All came from one man, my idol growing up, the reason I bowl leg spin and the reason I now wear 23 sad day for the world of cricket!! RIP @ShaneWarne a true cricketing legend!”
As well as being recognised from some of cricket’s best modern stars, many of the sport’s former heroes also took to social media to hail the leading Australia wicket taker.
This includes West Indies legend Sir Viv Richards, who revealed he was ‘shocked to the core’ after hearing the news.
He posted: “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.”
Former England skipper Ian Botham also echoed the sentiments of his fellow stars, and sent his wishes to Warne’s family.
Botham tweeted: “I've lost a great friend on and off the playing field. “One of the best” my thoughts are with Jackson Summer & Brooke....RIP Warnster.”
