When the news broke of Shane Warne’s death on Friday, there was a common reaction from cricket fans around the world – not just shocked, but instantly bereft. Warne’s loss was unexpected and close on the heels of that of another Australian legend, former wicketkeeper Rod Marsh. Marsh was 74. Warne was just 52 and despite his easygoing attitude to diet and fitness, it never occurred that this ebullient commentator, coach, poker player and former world champion was in anything but the prime of life.
Some of the sorrow was, naturally, the tragedy of a life left too early. We expected Warne to be part of our landscape for many years yet, sharing opinions on the game, joking with England players he used to humiliate on the field, managing teams in domestic tournaments and, who knows, perhaps one day taking the reins of an international team and transforming it into an all-conquering behemoth (please, God, let it be ours).
