Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting was reduced to tears as he paid an emotional tribute to his great friend and cricket legend Shane Warne.
Warne passed away last Friday aged 52 in Thailand following a heart attack. The leg spinner - dubbed the King of Spin - was found collapsed in his room by his friends at a luxury villa in Koh Samui.
He had reportedly suffered from chest pains before flying to Asia for the week-long holiday with his mates.
According to local police, four of his friends desperately tried to resuscitate him by performing CPR before an ambulance took him to the Thai International Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Warne's family broke their silence on their heartbreak, issuing a statement in which they described his sudden death as the start of a 'never-ending nightmare'.
Ponting, who knew his former teammate for 32 years, struggled with his emotions as he labelled Warne ‘the greatest’ cricketer of all time during an interview with Seven News .
“I was shocked I think like probably the rest of the world,” Ponting said. “I mean I’ve got the messages when I woke up this morning. I went to bed last night knowing that I had to take my daughters for netball and then was confronted with what didn’t seem quite real at that time and even now probably doesn’t really seem like it’s real either.
“I’ve had a few hours now to digest it all and think about how (big) a part of my life he was and reflect on a lot of those memories through the years. Because he knew and touched so many people you can understand that the outpouring of emotion started amongst us (former teammates).
“Like most, I’ve been trying to stay away from them (text messages) a little bit because I find it a little bit hard to get on the phone to some of the boys. It’s a pretty hard time.”
Ponting was forced to compose himself as he battled with his emotions when speaking about the imminent renaming of Melbourne Cricket Ground's Great Southern Stand to the SK Warne Stand.
The 47-year-old said the honour was 'the ultimate recognition of one of the world's great sportsmen'.
“He’ll be remembered as one of the all-time greats, but for a generation, every young kid wanted to be Shane Warne and wanted to bowl leg spin,” Ponting added. “He is going to down as one of the all-time greats of the game if not the greatest.
“I’ve never played with a better and more competitive bowler, someone who changed and revolutionised spin bowling.”
Adored by millions around the world, the charismatic Warne is considered by many as the greatest bowler to ever play the game.
His illustrious international career spanned 15 years and saw him take 708 Test wickets - the most ever by an Australian and only behind Muttiah Muralitharan in the all-time standings - as well as the most wickets in Ashes history, with 195.
His family have accepted an offer from the Victorian government and Prime Minister Scott Morrison of a state funeral for Warne.
