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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Emma Kemp, Niall McVeigh, Luke McLaughlin and Gregg Bakowski

Tributes paid to Shane Warne after cricket great’s death – as it happened

Shane Warne Shane Keith Warne Australia England Shane Watson Rod Marsh Ashes Mike Gatting Cricket (Organization) Pakistan

Well, it has been a long and pretty sad 24 hours. First with news yesterday of Rod Marsh’s death and then Shane Warne’s overnight. We will leave this blog here for now, but I’ll leave you with the obituaries for both of these fine sportsmen. As always, thank you for joining us and we really value all of your contributions. Keep an eye on the website for more stories to come.

Warne had been watching the first Test between Australia and Pakistan on television in his Koh Samui hotel room when he had a suspected heart attack, according to Nine newspapers. Warne’s long-time manager, James Erskine, told the Sydney Morning Herald The Age he had not been drinking before he was found, having started a diet to lose weight.

Updated

Steve Waugh has posted a tribute on Instagram.

“So many memories and moments that will never be forgotten,” Waugh wrote. “It was a privilege and a pleasure to play alongside you. My thoughts and condolences are with the Warne family. R.I.P. Warnie.”

Waugh’s post is particularly salient given his tense history with Warne, whom he dropped during an Australian tour of West Indies in 1999.

Shane Warne and Steve Waugh in 1999.
Shane Warne and Steve Waugh in 1999. Photograph: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

Ian Chappell has likened Warne to Dennis Lillee.

“He did have a terrific cricket brain and the thing that I suppose really admired was it was a very aggressive cricket brain,” Chappell told the ABC. “They way I would sum him up would be I’d put him in the same category as Dennis Lillee.

“As soon as Shane Warne got the ball, people sat forward in their seat and they were thinking, ‘Something is going to happen here’. There weren’t that many batsmen around who could take Warnie for four, but you always felt he was going to get a wicket.”

Bill Lawry, meanwhile, believes Warne and Don Bradman “are head and shoulders above the rest”. “I think his greatest talent was he was a natural genius,” Lawry said. “We will probably never see a leg-spinner of his quality again.”

It is relevant that St Kilda are mourning Warne’s death when considering that he was a handy full-forward for the club’s under-19s and wanted to make the senior team and play AFL.

“I got this letter saying your services are no longer required at the St Kilda footy club,” Warne said in 2020. “That’s big for a kid that all he wanted to do was play football, so to have that dream shattered was heart wrenching.”

Then he was offered a chance to play cricket in England.

Ricky Ponting, the former Australia captain and long-time teammate of Warne, calls him “the greatest bowler I ever played with or against”.

Updated

Magda Szubanski has posted the sweetest tweet about Warne, who of course appeared on Kath & Kim and gave her character, Sharon, a “pash”. “Poor Sharon has lost the love of her life,” Szubanski tweeted.

Updated

Meanwhile, the tributes keep coming at the MCG.

Shane Warne statue
Shane Warne statue
Shane Warne statue

Clifford Nixon has a similar story of being in the bar or the loo for big moments, but at least he didn’t miss Warne getting Basit between his legs in 1995.

“In contrast to Dave below, I was at the SCG for the famous Basit Ali wicket,” Clifford writes. “I was at the bar/bathroom for every other wicket that fell that day (5?) but was back in my seat for the Warne/Healy build-up and the denouement.
To the people who were there, it seemed a fair accompli; poor Basit had worked himself into a frenzy in those moments. Genius.”

Warne has spoken about this famous wicket and what exactly was said between he and Healy.

“I’ve called Heals up for a bit of a chat,” Warne said. “Afterwards we played it up a little bit, but basically the conversation went something like, ‘What are we gonna do for dinner tonight, mate? Do you feel Mexican? Italian?’. The reason we held the game up was Basit Ali had been holding us up all summer. So we thought, ‘well we’re doing overtime so what difference is a couple of minutes when he’s pretty keen to get off?’

“Heals said we’d decide what we were gonna have [for dinner] over a beer in the dressing room, but as he was walking back he said, ‘see if you can bowl him around his legs, or do something, will ya?’” He walks back to the stumps, and last ball of the day turns out to be one of my best.”

This is what he did:

Updated

Former Australia coach, Justin Langer, has been speaking with ABC radio about his memories while playing alongside Warne.

“The first is his 700th [Test] wicket at the MCG – that was unbelievable,” Langer said. “It was theatre, the drama because he was at his home ground at the MCG. Obviously he loved Melbourne, he loved the Melbourne Cricket Ground. So that was a special moment.

“But I remember playing against Sri Lanka. It was a game up in Cairns, we were playing the Test match and it was just … again, this is Shane Warne, just the theatre of it. And the sun was setting and we were trying to get the last wicket and there were men all round the bat.

“I was at silly mid-on, and it was just this … competitive instincts of Warnie, you could almost hear the ball fizzing – and people go ‘yeah, whatever’ – but no, where I was fielding you could almost hear the ball fizzing, such was the revs he put on the ball.

“So, that was a magic moment for us, just being there and seeing him go about his business – with like I say, the backdrop of the sunset and the heat and the sweat pouring off him and he had dirt all over him … for me that’s my favourite memory [of Warnie].”

This one is from a David Warner (assuming not that one but please do correct us Dave):

“Without doubt the most skilful and watchable sports person I’ve even seen. If I ever get to see someone else so enjoyable to watch I’ll know I’ve been fortunate. I love cricket but even an ardent fan has to acknowledge their are moments when it’s dull. But never when he was bowling.

“Regardless of all his faults as a person, as a cricketer he was quite simply beautiful to watch. Hope his kids are okay and take some solace from how much joy he gave so many people.”

From Mark Pulham: “As an English cricket fan living in Sydney I was lucky enough to to be at the SCG in 1992 to witness his first test, and again in 2007 to clap him off in his last. What a bookend, and the bit in between weren’t bad either.”

And Neal Whittle: “Remember when Warnie dropped Kevin Pietersen early in the last test in the 2005 Ashes, and after KP went on to make his epic maiden century and secure the Ashes, how Warnie ran over to shake his hand to congratulate him and ‘to enjoy the moment’, before KP left the field?

“Later that same fateful day, Warnie was fielding on the boundary as the light faded and the English crowd were singing ‘five-nil, five-nil, two-one two-one’ in reference to Glen McGrath’s pre-series prediction and the eventual series score line and in response, Warnie applauded them, generously.

“Disarmed, the crowd sang ‘we wish you were English’, and Warnie applauded that, too. That’s the spirit of cricket, that was Warnie, there will never be another quite like him.”

Laura Haywood: “Thanks for inspiring my love of cricket and for making all those England losses at the hand of your innately gifted fingers be mitigated by the joy and privilege of witnessing your genius. The Greatest. Ever.”

The reader comments are still coming thick and fast from all parts of the world but I can’t go past this one from Dave Evans. How many times have you ducked out to the bar while watching sport and missed a major moment? Like, um, the ball of the century.

“There’s a phrase people use about sporting genius, ‘you can’t take your eyes off them’,” Dave writes. “Well I was at Old Trafford in 1993 for the ball of the century but missed it because me and my mate had popped to the bar.

The thing is, Shane Warne went on to do things so incredible that missing that one minute didn’t matter. His career was something I was privileged to follow. Let’s cherish what he gave us as we mourn what we have lost.”

A little bit more detail on the Shane Warne Stand from Victorian sports minister, Martin Pakula, who says the renaming of the Great Southern Stand will be expedited.

The Victorian government has already spoken with the MCG Trust and premier Daniel Andrews has exchanged text messages with Warne’s brother, Jason. Pakula says the new name will remain regardless of government plans to redevelop the stand.

“I can think of no fine a tribute to the greatest cricketer this state has ever produced,” Pakula said.

“No matter whatever happens to that stand in the future, whether it’s rebuilt or refurbished, renovated. It will remain the S.K. Warne Stand in perpetuity because his legend will live in perpetuity.

“He’s the greatest cricketer the state has ever produced, and it will be a long, long time before we say one anywhere near as good as him.”

Reader Paul Farrow has recounted a wonderful moment in Manchester, where he and his sons met Warne by chance and encountered a man very generous with his time.

“I took my two boys to watch England play Pakistan at Old Trafford in 2016,” Paul writes. “On the way back to the train after the close of play my friend saw Shane Warne in central Manchester getting into a taxi with Mark Nicholas.

“Despite Nicholas telling him they were late, Shane got out of the taxi and had a picture with my sons and their friend. Warne told Nicholas it would only take a few seconds. A true gent and a moment my sons will never forget, much like their dad!
A wonderful man and an even better cricketer. He will be sadly missed.”

Shane Warne
image0 (1) Photograph: Payl Farrow

Pretty cool yarn this.

MCG's Great Southern Stand to be renamed S.K. Warne Stand

This is just in ...

Earlier we shared Mike Selvey’s report from the archives on Warne’s ‘ball of the century’.

I’ve just found another, from Barney Ronay, in 2013 shortly before the 20th anniversary of that Ashes series. Here’s a snippet, full story below.

Warne’s Ball, a hard-spun leg-break to dismiss Mike Gatting on the third day of the Old Trafford Test, is still jarringly fresh even as it approaches its 20th birthday this Ashes summer. Untarnished by its own celebrity, arteries still unfurred after two decades of richly sauced commemoration, Warne’s Ball remains a pure and entirely self-contained sporting miniature.

There may come a point – a thousand YouTube montages, a million lunch interval documentaries from now – where it is possible not to be startled by the impact of that drifting, leaping leg-break (and Gatting’s trudge: never underestimate Gatting’s trudge) but it seems safe to say this is still some way off.

There are plenty of flowers and other offerings being left by Warne’s statue at the MCG as fans paid their respects.

Shane Warne statue
Shane Warne statue
Shane Warne statue
Shane Warne statue

Amid all of this, there is some cricket being played, most immediately Australia v England in the Women’s World Cup. The shadows of both Warne and Rod Marsh will hang heavy over today’s proceedings at Seddon Park and both teams will wear black armbands as a mark of respect.

If you want to follow the action, Mike Hytner is on that dedicated live blog and will guide you through every over here:

This salute from federal opposition leader and keen cricketer, Anthony Albanese, is actually quite stirring. He (or his comms team) calls him “a flash of blond lightning”, “a larrikin and an artist” who was loved “warts and all”.

“This is such a blow,” the release reads. “Just as we’re all mourning the great Rod Marsh, it’s almost impossible to believe we’re talking about the death of Shane Warne. We often talk about game changers – Warnie actually was one.

“He was a phenomenal sportsman, and so much more. When he had the ball in his hand, he was a magician. He was a flash of blond lightning. He was a larrikin and an artist, and he changed the game he loved in the process. To watch him in action was just one of the purest joys sport had to offer, and a reminder of what is best about sport.

“It was only fitting that he took his 700th wicket at his beloved MCG on a cold, damp Boxing Day. A generation was inspired to bowl leg spin because of him. It’s an inspiration that will lift future generations. He carried his love of cricket into the commentary box, and we all thought we would be sharing in that love for decades to come.

“Warnie was a great Australian with a sparkle in his eye and magic in his fingertips. We loved him warts and all. It is shocking to think that someone who was such a force of nature is suddenly gone. Our hearts are breaking, but they are full for those who loved him best. Our thoughts especially go out to his children.

“It’s small comfort now, but they will always carry him in their hearts. Shane Warne. Legend. An extraordinary innings ended far too soon. Vale.”

Here is the full statement from Payne’s office:

“For cricket lovers young and old, here and across the cricket world, it is impossible to believe that Shane Warne is gone. The passion, the excitement, the skill and the character he brought to everything on and off the field will live with us forever.

“I will never forget seeing him bowl at the SCG, holding my breath on his run in, watching in fascination as the scarlet Kookaburra spun from his magic hands.

Shane Warne embodied cricket to a generation of Australians and inspired cricketers and fans all around the world. He will be dearly missed. My thoughts are with his family and friends. As the Australian men’s cricket team takes the field in Pakistan today, we will be thinking of them as they also take in this devastating news.

“Following advice of Shane Warne’s tragic death overnight, Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade officials have spoken to those travelling with Mr Warne in Thailand. Our officials will arrive in Koh Samui today to provide further assistance.

“DFAT is working with Thai authorities to confirm arrangements following his passing, assist with his repatriation and provide other assistance on the ground.”

Dfat officials on way to Thailand to repatriate Warne's body

Australian foreign affairs minister, Marise Payne, says Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade officials have spoken with those who were travelling with Warne, and will arrive in Koh Samui on Saturday.

“DFAT is working with Thai authorities to confirm arrangements following his passing, assist with his repatriation and provide other assistance on the ground,” Payne said.

Updated

There are a heap of back-page tributes from Fleet Street as the UK papers hit the presses.

Will just leave this one here.

Our reporter Ben Doherty has compiled this piece with all the latest reaction from Australia:

The death of Shane Keith Warne – leg-spinner and larrikin, legend and lair – at the age of just 52 has left a nation in mourning.

Australians woke to the scarcely believable news that the cricketer, a man who had, for many, come to embody the rarely realised national ideal of the irreverent, unafraid maverick, had died of a suspected heart attack.

The tributes were led by teammates and friends, along with those he tormented with his vast, dazzling array of legbreaks, zooters, flippers and the occasional straight one. But the repercussions of the end of his vast, short life were felt far beyond the cricketing world.

On the subject of contributions from readers, we have just launched another vessel for you to share your anecdotes. If you happened to have a chance meeting with Warne or have any memories you’d like to share, add a comment.

This might sound strange coming from a sports journalist but I met Warne about eight years ago while a cadet reporter covering fashion (yes, fashion) and general celebrity showboating inside the Bird’s Nest at the Melbourne Cup. He was standing outside one of the tents smoking a fag. A character, for sure.

I first saw him play as a young kid when my dad took my brother and I to watch him in the Sheffield Shield which was, of course, from where he was plucked from effective obscurity to make his Test debut against India in January 1992.

A few more tributes are coming in via email from readers.

Michael has described him as “cricket’s Jimi Hendrix, the inventor of a new way of playing that has never been bettered”.

This is from Richard Catchlove: “I couldn’t get back to sleep and when I did, had the weirdest dream about Shane Keith Warne. He had to be a Keith. The complete larrikin, like no other as he could live up to and by it. His energy was equalled by no one. His generosity and genuineness was true, unique and again, unrivalled by any other sportsman. He never said, ‘no’, when asked. If he said he would, he did. His honesty was real, as was his giving. It will be a long time before the world has another SKW.”

And from Adam Johnson: “I only truly understood the concept of sporting greatness in the Ashes test match at Trent Bridge in 2005. Whilst I was delighted that England won, seeing Warne dictate the atmosphere with the inevitable first ball wicket was a sight to behold. Even though that performance did not result in an Australia win, it was clear to see the aura that this man had and how he could single handedly conduct proceedings. The best to ever grace the game – RIP Shane Warne.”

Australian prime minister Scott Morrison has offered Warne a state funeral, reports Josh Butler. Imagine there will be more to come on this.

Five years ago, Guardian journalist Michael Butler put on some pads, accompanied Warne to the nets and faced an over. Warne gives him a lesson in how to judge the line of a delivery based on the movement of his hands and fingers, and then cops a bit of gentle sledging (“your middle name is Keith”). Brilliant video.

Updated

This country cricket anecdote is so wholesome.

My colleague Steven Bloor has put together a gallery of Warnie’s best pictures. There is a superb shot of him celebrating a wicket in the 1999 World Cup final against none other than Pakistan, a beer-soaked moment with Merv and plenty from his tufty-blond heyday.

“As a teenage girl I spent many a baking hot summer at the Adelaide Oval in the heyday of the West Indies, Pakistan and Australia cricket battles,” writes reader Emily from London.

“I remember feeling homesick and awestruck as I listened to the radio in the summer of 1999 in London to the gripping World Cup final against Pakistan in which Warnie took 4 for 33 from nine overs. It was tense, thrilling and a reminder of summers past. Thanks for the memories Shane.”

Updated

Dan Walker from the BBC has posted this poignant interview with Warne only recently. He speaks about the mistakes he has made in the past and the difficulty of learning from them while in the public eye.

Cricket Australia has issued a media release announcing the Australian men’s and women’s teams will wear black armbands and pause for a moment’s silence before their respective matches today in Pakistan and at the Women’s World Cup in New Zealand.

“Arguably the greatest and most influential bowler the world has seen, Shane has been a hero and inspiration to millions of cricketers everywhere,” said CA chair, Dr Lachlan Henderson. “He created cult status for leg spin bowling at a time that pace bowlers dominated the game.

“This has been a tragic couple of days with the passing of Rod and Shane and we continue to acknowledge their extraordinary impact on cricket in Australia and the legacies they leave. They were giants of the game with personalities to match.

“Our thoughts are with Shane’s family and particularly his children Jackson, Brooke and Summer.”

Henderson is going to speak to the media in Melbourne today next to the Shane Warne statue on the MCG concourse.

I can’t stop reading Warne’s final tweet, about the loss of Rod Marsh. It feels surreal. I saw it yesterday afternoon, looked at it and then moved on. Today it has been liked 142,000 times and retweeted almost 30,000.

Warne’s former Australia captain, Mark Taylor, was clearly in shock when he also spoke with Nine this morning. Here’s what Tubby had to say:

“I really can’t believe it. You always felt that Warnie would just go on. He has had a turbulent life but a very full life.

“Warnie is one of the few people in any sport who gets to change the game and that’s what Warnie did. He changed the game. When Warnie came into the scene, yes, he was a tubby sort of reddish-haired guy who loved to smoke, loved a beer.

“I was never a smoker, but I loved a beer and still do. I think that is where Warnie and I really struck up a great friendship. I was lucky that I got to captain him.”

This comes from reader and “long-suffering England fan” Guy Hornsby.

“So soon after Rod Marsh, and out of the blue, the game has lost two giants. I never thought I’d see him go so young, and like so many England fans around in the ’90s and ’00s, he’s our generation.

“For all his bombast he was a legend that changed the game, all too much for us English. You got used to watching him dismantle us, but while you hated the result, you couldn’t look away. From the ‘ball of the century’ to that last wicket in Sydney, a game my twin brother Dave was lucky enough to see in the flesh, he tore up the rule book and made spin sexy.

“There’s talk of him being ‘cricket’s Maradona’, and I can see some parallels. The career highs and lows, the mischievous nature, the chubby lad who you felt was born to play the game. Of course, the world of cricket will never be that big but also there is something about cricket where these players still feel tangible and ‘one of us’ in a way Maradona or Kobe never could or would.

“Warne was one the transcended the normal, like Sachin, or Botham. It’s unfathomable he isn’t around. With Rod Marsh too overnight, cricket is a much poorer place.”

Hello all and thanks Niall.

Ian Healy has just spoken with the Nine Network and said he was not completely surprised Warne had died before his time, but did not expect it to be quite so young.

“An early passing didn’t surprise me for Warnie. He didn’t look after his body that well. He yo-yoed up and down. He didn’t put much sunscreen on. I thought it would have become skin issues for him over time, but not 52. And he would have been full of beans right to the end, I bet.”

Healy also offered his own tribute, saying “Warnie spanned generations”.

“Not only the way he played but he communicated with Richie Benaud regularly when he was a player, when he was a young player. He used to pick the brains of Richie Benaud. No one before him did that.

“No one really spent time as a mate with Richie Benaud. Then Ian Chappell. We are out on the field warming up, day in, day out, and Warnie is over at the wicket talking to Ian Chappell who is ready to do the toss or the pitch report. He picked the brains of the former players.

“He was the first to do that ... that was the first thing that was different about Warnie – from a young age he was an old man.”

Updated

Time to hand over to my colleague, Emma Kemp, who will guide you through reaction and tributes to Shane Warne in Australia. Thanks for joining me and for all the emails you sent in; sorry I couldn’t use them all.

“As a 44 year old cricket tragic from Melbourne, there was no greater hero than Warnie in any field – his loss is a gut punch, a hole torn into Australia’s cultural fabric,” writes Andy Fisher.

“Watching him bowl at the MCG was the pinnacle of sporting experience for me and many Victorians – the larrikin hometown hero who had remade cricket single-handedly. The crackling hush descending as he stood at the top of his run, a glint in his eye, rolled the ball deftly again and again off the side of his wrist, a cobra mesmerising its prey.

“The theatre. The electricity. The ebb and flow of duels with the likes of Lara, Tendulkar, Flintoff. The way he held 90,000 people’s hopes and dreams in his palm ... and then the roar of release. Off-field he was always larger than life, in turns hapless or hilarious, getting into scrapes and never not chugging fully from the cup of life. RIP Warnie – you will always be Melbourne’s favourite son.”

Updated

Shane Warne (1969-2022)

Tributes have poured in from across the cricket world for Shane Warne, who has died at the age of 52. The legendary Australian spin bowler died after a suspected heart attack while staying at his villa in Thailand.

The Australia captain, Pat Cummins, hailed Warne as “an all-time great, a once-in-a-century type of cricketer,” while Ian Botham paid tribute to “a great friend on and off the playing field”. Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Adam Gilchrist and Sachin Tendulkar have also paid tributes to Warne, who took 708 wickets in a 15-year international Test career.

• Shane Warne obituary by Matthew Engel
• Andy Bull: Genius Warne played with carefree spirit
• Vic Marks: Warne was greatest spinner I’ve seen

Another lovely reader tribute, this time from Colum Fordham.

The hole left in the world of cricket by the sudden unexpected passing of Shane Warne is like the death of Diego Maradona for football fans. He was such a vibrant, fun-loving yet determined cricketer. The look of befuddlement on Mike Gatting’s face when he received the ball of the century was just the start of a career that beguiled us all. Watching him bowl was poetry (and theatre) in motion, his dexterity and range of deliveries a joy to behold – unless you were on the receiving end. As Henry Blofeld just said on the radio, he lived life in the fast lane and his cricket would not have been so extraordinary if he hadn’t.

Andy Bull has written this tribute to Shane Warne, a complex and charismatic figure whose legacy will extend far beyond the wickets where he was so dominant.

“You could try to measure Warne’s greatness in statistics, but they wouldn’t ever really begin to capture it. Instead, it’s in the memories he left us with, like that indelible moment at Old Trafford. It’s in the way he competed, and how he carried himself, his combination of high skill and low cunning, and how he matched his almost preternatural genius as a cricketer with the genuine, carefree air of a kid at play.”

Here is Saturday’s Guardian Sport front page:

Shane Warne 1969-2022

More reaction from Australia, with Shane Watson tweeting: “I am numb!!! My hero, my mentor, my great friend, Shane Warne is no longer with us. Warnie, the impact you had on this great game and everyone around it is immeasurable. Thank you for being so bloody good to me. I am going to miss you so much. Rest In Peace SK.”

The former Australia batsman Mark Waugh wrote: “This is just unfathomable to lose another great of our cricket family [after the death of Rod Marsh]. Warnie was the ultimate entertainer on and off the field, never a dull moment who lived life to the fullest. Deepest condolences to his loved ones. RIP mate.”

More of your excellent tributes, which collectively show what a globally popular figure Shane Warne was:

“Test cricket has been my escape and a reminder of what is noble about man’s desire to compete. And few shone brighter than Shane Warne. He was the Johan Cruyff of cricket” – Emiel de Bont in the Netherlands.

“I was fortunate to have watched Warne bowl live – unfortunately it was at the Wanderers in 2002 when Australia handed South Africa our worst ever Test thrashing. We used to watch Warne with a mixture of admiration for the magic he produced on the pitch, and fear of what he could do to our team” – Shabbir in Johannesburg.

“I am a lifelong West Indies supporter and remember one of the great performances from Shane in the 1996 World Cup semi-final in Mohali. West Indies had restricted Australia to 207 for 8 and were 173 for 3 in reply, apparently cruising into the final against Sri Lanka. Shane came on and took three more Windies wickets which sparked a spectacular turnaround. RIP Shane, a true genius” – Paul in Cromer.

“Shane Warne was the game, while making it something new. Warne was always there, the standard that no one could aspire to be near. Warne was, quite frankly, supposed to live for ever. He will, in a way, but now comes the shock to realise that he also won’t.”

Geoff Lemon reports from Rawalpindi on a momentous day overshadowed by the death of Rod Marsh and news of a terrorist attack in Peshawar – then followed by the news of Shane Warne’s passing.

“I was at Old Trafford when Shane Warne bowled that ball,” writes Martin Crookall. I’d been watching cricket for 25 years at that point; I had never seen a ball do that before. I didn’t believe it was even possible. I knew I’d seen the past of cricket turn into its future in that instant. I am devastated that Warney’s gone from us.”

Mike Atherton, the former England captain and Sky commentator, has just landed in Antigua and is talking to Sky Sports News. He appears genuinely stunned, having heard the news while on the plane.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been more shocked in my life. A man who had such vitality, full of energy and life ... someone I played against for a decade in Ashes cricket, and commentated alongside for a long time. I don’t think many people read the game better than him, he was the most intelligent bowler I played against, and that came across in his commentary.

“Leg-spin was a dying art in Australia when he was first picked – at that first Test match at Old Trafford, he was a little bit under the radar, until he bowled Gatts, and then he became a superstar of the game. He was two bowlers in one – brilliant defensively, and a magnificent attacking bowler. He’s the greatest leg-spinner the game has seen.”

“Like many others around the world, I am blindsided by the passing of Shane Warne,” writes Hayley de la Motte. “Many of my earliest and fondest memories are of Warney with ball in hand. He was a cricketer whose unparalleled talent afforded him the rare luxury of succeeding on his own terms.

“From sneaking darts into fitness camps, to refusing be told which hat to wear on the field, his unwillingness to conform made him the rebel hero of my youth. At the same time, his unprecedented skill with the ball, wily charisma, and indomitable spirit made me proud to be Australian. Thank you for all the memories, and the great happiness you brought me and my family, Shane. You will be sorely missed.”

Here’s a tribute from beyond cricket – Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger:

And Ali Martin has written on tributes from Sachin Tendulkar, Pat Cummins and many more:

Tributes keep coming in from across the world of cricket. Ian Botham tweeted: “I’ve lost a great friend on and off the playing field. One of the best. My thoughts are with [his children] Jackson, Summer and Brooke ... RIP Warnster.”

The India captain, Rohit Sharma, said “I’m truly lost for words. An absolute legend and champion of our game has left us.” Former India batter Virender Sehwag called Warne “one of the greatest spinners, the man who made spin cool.”

Brian Lara tweeted: “Heartbroken and speechless ... My friend is gone! We have lost one of the greatest sportsmen of all time! My condolences go out to his family. RIP Warnie. You will be missed.”

Here is the Guardian’s Shane Warne obituary, written by Matthew Engel:

Warne was almost certainly the greatest spin bowler cricket has ever produced. More than that, he was one of the most outsize personalities of any sport. Everything he did in his game and his life was on a grand scale: he lived fast and, it transpires, died young.

Warne singlehandedly revived the discipline of leg-spin, which by the time he burst into Test cricket in the 1990s was almost a lost art ... spin bowlers in his era often found themselves apologetic figures brought on to give a little breather to the fast men. Warne was the reverse: he was not just a master of his craft; he commanded the arena.

BBC Radio Five are broadcasting an hour-long special paying tribute to Shane Warne, with Guardian writer Geoff Lemon joining Jonathan Agnew, Phil Tufnell, Mike Gatting and others – you can listen here if you’re in the UK.

It’s 6am in Sydney and Melbourne, with many Australians waking up to the terribly sad news that Shane Warne has died aged 52. The legendary former cricketer and TV broadcaster suffered a suspected heart attack while at his villa in Thailand.

Tributes have poured in from the world of cricket and beyond; we will continue to update this blog with reaction from Australia and more of your memories of Warne, named one of the five greatest cricketers of the 20th century by Wisden.

Thanks to reader Nikhil Ravishanker for this email. Sport’s true legends are the ones imitated in playgrounds and on pitches around the world – and Warne undeniably belongs in this category.

I was seven years old when I first watched Shane Warne in action. The wizardry, the finesse, the sheer panache that he brought to the crease – all of this left an indelible impression on me. When I formally began playing cricket not long after, there was no doubt in my head that I wanted to be a leg spinner, like Warne. I spent hours and hours trying to imitate every single detail of Warne’s bowling action, and it gave me such indescribable satisfaction every time I managed to get the ball to turn even a little. This was 18 years ago, and I no longer play serious cricket. But every time I step out to bowl, even if only for fun, it’s Warne’s endearing style that I strive to emulate. He was, and will forever remain one of my greatest heroes. RIP.

Here are some more thoughts from the England Test captain, Joe Root: “My experiences of Shane were of someone who absolutely loved the game. Growing up he was a massive idol of mine and someone you wanted to emulate. The way he could win a game on his own, his skill levels were incredible.

“Certainly as a young kid watching him play, I’d have been 14 when the 2005 Ashes were on, in many ways that series was a massive influence on my career. The way he captured the nation, along with the whole of that series ... his phenomenal performances were the sort of things that make you want to get into the game and play at the highest level.

“I never got a chance to play against him but anyone that you speak to said how formidable he was to play against, not just with his skill level and how he played the game but he did it in the right way. I did get a chance to sit down and talk cricket with him and I’ll fondly remember that. We had two or three hours. He really loved the game of cricket and he was great fun to be around. I’m deeply saddened to hear this news.”

England players pay tribute to Shane Warne before the fourth day of their tour match in Antigua.
England players pay tribute to Shane Warne before the fourth day of their tour match in Antigua. Photograph: Gareth Copley/Getty Images

Basit Parker has emailed to highlight a memorable moment that sums up Shane Warne’s brilliance, when he outfoxed South Africa’s Daryll Cullinan at the SCG.

“Warne bowled a flipper to Cullinan which was entirely obvious, with Richie Benaud (another legend), noting that was ‘the one Warne shows them’. He then bowled a half-tracker that was cut away, before bowling his true flipper which absolutely bamboozled the batter. I could say more, but condolences mostly to Warne’s family, and to the wider cricketing community. We have lost an absolute gem today.”

The UK prime minister, Boris Johnson, has tweeted a tribute to Warne. “Totally shocked and saddened to hear about Shane Warne – a cricketing genius and one of the nicest guys you could meet, who also did a lot to help disadvantaged kids into sport.”

The Cricket Australia chief executive, Nick Hockley, who is currently in Pakistan for the Test series, said: “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.

“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.”

Thanks, Luke. I’ll start with more of your lovely tributes to Shane Warne; please keep them coming.

“As a cricket fan from Pakistan who grew up watching him, Warne epitomised Australian cricket. Larger than life, feisty, masterful, and near unbeatable. Cricket has lost a true ambassador of the game” – Hamza Tariq.

“‘Warnie’ became as much part of our sports discourse as Brits as it did for the Aussies. Not sure I can think of many Aussie sports stars that crossed that divide – which says a lot about the man” – Tom Palmer.

“I’d just finished reading the obituary of Rod Marsh – truly sad news, but this hit me like a steam train. Possibly the last true cricket hero of the free to air era here in England” – Jezz Nash.

Thank you for all the tributes you have emailed and tweeted. My colleague Niall McVeigh is here to take over the blog, so please keep the tributes coming. As a cricket fan I feel I must say: thank you, Shane Warne.

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The former Hampshire, Middlesex and England spinner Shaun Udal with a simple tribute and an evocative photo:

Another nice line from Mike Gatting on the ‘Ball of the Century’ from a previous documentary: “My partner at the other end said: ‘If it was a cheese roll, I wouldn’t have let it pitch.’ That was Mr Gooch.”

The shockwaves are not confined to Australia. Shane Warne, like Rod Marsh, was a global presence in cricket. We were all trying to come to terms with the loss of Marsh, reading the torrent of tributes including this one from Warne, which suddenly acquired a haunting quality: “Sad to hear the news that Rod Marsh has passed. He was a legend of our great game and an inspiration to so many young boys and girls. Rod cared deeply about cricket and gave so much – especially to Australia and England players.” Then the second thunderbolt struck and this time without any warning.

Mike Selvey, the Guardian’s cricket correspondent, was there to witness Shane Warne’s stunning entry into Test cricket in England on 2 June 1993. The “ball of the century” tag came later, but Selvey was in no doubt of its impact. This report appeared in the next day’s Guardian with the headline “England Warne down and put in a spin”.

“Gatting, perhaps suspecting a tabloid stitch-up or at the very least subterfuge from the wicketkeeper (not possible because Ian Healy was clueless too and groping down the leg side at the time), stood his ground, not in dissent or disappointment, but in total, utter disbelief before hauling himself away. He had every right. With that one remarkable delivery Warne has carved his name in cricket folklore.”

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James Hopkin: “Warne was also extraordinary in the commentary box, his love of the game beaming through with his unrivalled readings of the play - riveting in themselves - and his indefatigable humour and good will The unfairest of dismissals! He really should have gone on to equal his top test score of 99.

Neil Fullerton: “I want to echo one of your other readers’ sentiments that it feels ridiculous to feel so stunned by the death of someone I have met or saw in the flesh. The thought that someone who seemed to radiate such energy and love of life could suddenly be gone just doesn’t seem possible. Like so many other readers have said, Shane Warne was the reason I wanted to pick up a ball and start bowling. In my memory I spent the whole of the summer of ’93 trying to get a tennis ball to do the things I’d seen Shane do on the TV. To me, he is up there with Michael Jordan in terms of sportsmen who transcended their sports ... As an England cricket fan, you were terrified to see him come on to bowl, but you were secretly glad he was because you knew it really meant something to get the better of this man (not that it happened very often).”

Julian Dismore: “As the Rajasthan Royals’ in-house videographer I filmed with Shane Warne many times between 2008 and 2012. I just can’t believe the news about him passing away. The man was a sporting genius, charisma personified and such amazing company. I’m incredulous - he was just 52 and had so much still to give. We might have got off to a tricky start, he didn’t really want a cameraman hanging around and distracting the team, but once we’d bonded on the dance floor he couldn’t have been kinder. We had so many laughs. He will be missed terribly - and never forgotten. A true legend.”

Andrew Strauss is speaking to Sky: “He was literally the greatest showman ... No one played the game the way he did. The flamboyance, the enthusiasm for the game, the incredible competitive spirit that he had, and those extraordinary skills that he had in those fingers of his ... you were playing the grand master of the game and he made you know it, as well.

“[Facing him] was a living, breathing nightmare ... you’re playing to his tune. That was his great skill. He was the poker player, the psychologist, as well as mastering that skill of leg spin bowling. I came out on the wrong end many times against him ... and the one or two I did get runs against him, that’s going down as the highlight of my career.

“He was an extraordinary human being, he really was ... he loved nothing more to go out for a night and talk about the game of cricket ... incredible company, you would never have a better night out than you would with Shane Warne ... he had a great generosity of spirit ... he was the greatest promoter of the sport than you can possibly get.

“If you look at the greatest cricketer, there’s Don Bradman, and then there’s Shane Warne ... we’re remembering how we went about his cricket ... the ability to laugh at yourself and have a bit of a joke ... that’s what we all loved about Shane Warne.”

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Michael Vaughan on Instagram: “It just doesn’t feel real to be talking about someone who once was an enemy on the pitch to one who became a great friend off it. I am absolutely gutted to have a lost a great friend .. one thing is for sure Heaven will be a lively place now the King has arrived.”

“Without a doubt, he is No 1 ever,” Gatting told Sky Sports. “There has been a lot of great cricketers, great spinners and great leg-spinners but Warnie will always be certainly from my point of view the No 1.” On the famous delivery, Gatting added: “The nice thing is he always said ‘thanks for that, mate, it started my career off’. All I could say was ‘it was a bit too good for me’ like many others who would suffer the same fate.” (PA)

One of the most notable things about the Ball of the Century was the batsman that received it. Gatting was a fine player of spin – in fact he viewed most of them dismissively. He thought spinners were there to be milked for relatively easy runs, or to be smashed out of the attack altogether, and he often did both batting for Middlesex at Lord’s where I grew up watching him captain the side. And then Shane Warne turned up, and changed the game with a single delivery.

What just happened?
What just happened? Photograph: PA

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Phil Simmons, West Indies coach, has spoken to Sky Sports News: “It’s a sad day for cricket. I played against Warney earlier, when he just started, on the 1992 tour ... his legacy and his genius speaks for itself in how he transformed leg spin bowling and cricket on the whole. He had a big impact in all cricket ... the way he did things, he did it a lot different to everybody else, and got results.

“I remember him playing against us and his battles with Brian Lara in the Test series down there [in Australia] ... I hope he’s remembered in that way, that he brought new aspects to the game of cricket. Nothing was a barrier ... in cricket in general ... people at Rajasthan [where Warne coached in the IPL] still speak about the different way they played and how they prepared.”

Charles Bickford: “Watching my son get gripped by cricket and particularly leg spin has been a beautiful, bright spot this dark summer. How well I remember my own first summer when cricket bit - and how it became a companion throughout my life.

“He’s shown a natural aptitude for it, and a strong work ethic. We’ve been in the nets most mornings before school this summer - weather permitting. It’s been a time travelling experience into the world of young men for me - as the summer progressed we were joined by various local kids and their talk of players past and present, ball types and arguments over 6s and catches. The mind games of Shane Warne. Last week he found he can try out for a Victorian U12 team. My mum framed the letter. I catch him watching old cricket videos all the time. Warnie’s voice drifts downstairs describing how to bowl a flipper.

“I was awoken by the rain just now at 3:30am in Melbourne - that weird vector where I often wake - 12 hours before/after I collect him from school. Five hours before this week’s match is due to start - the absurdly large club kit bag in the car outside. This time the rain carries the message that the game, the last of this season will be cancelled - and it is almost a relief as I don’t think we could possibly know what to do on the field with this awful, awful news.”

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“I’m an Australian living in London. I am absolutely devastated,” emails Ryan Meade. “It’s like a living nightmare and just feels even more cruel given the awful state of things in Ukraine and in Australia with the terrible floods. I’m 35. My childhood was as good as it gets watching Warne bowl throughout his whole career. I watched his documentary a couple weeks ago and I’m so saddened for his children who he clearly adored. RIP Shane Warne. The greatest cricketer of all time. I miss him already.”

Heath McGay: “Having finished work and dealing with the news of the passing of Rod “Bacchas” Marsh, a bonafide icon from Western Australia was bad enough. To hear a few hours later the news of the passing of Shane Warne makes it a very sad day for cricket tragics in Australia and the sporting world in general. As a Gen X-er, I was raised as a kid on a diet of “Caught Marsh, Bowled Lillee”. And as then as a young adult growing up with Warnie starting his career as someone who could “work out alright” as a leggie, to end up an absolute champion of the sport, is breaking my heart. Thankfully online videos of two of my cricketing idols have helped numb the pain, but the passing of two of the greats of Australian cricket within 24 hours has been very difficult to deal with. We all mourn their passing in our own way, and our hearts go out to their families. The industry will never forget their legacies on the sport, and neither will the sporting public in general.”

Neil Thompson: “It’s utterly daft of course that I feel so flat and sad at the death of someone I never met. It’s just testament to his charisma that he made himself feel like a mate. On the field his personality was part of his success. Once he realised he was so good he was irrepressible. He could perk up the dullest cricket and was always interesting, positive and with such an apparent love of life. A big light has gone out.”

The former South Africa captain Shaun Pollock is having a chat with Sky Sports: “He was a magician ... it was pure theatre ... he was obviously immensely confident in his own ability, but he was good fun too ... He was such a passionate individual.”

He is asked for his favourite memories: “I don’t think there were too many ‘favourite’ when he played against him ...”

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The Australia captain Pat Cummins speaks: “Warney was an all-time great ... we loved so much about Warney. His showmanship, his charisma, his tactics, the way he willed himself and the team to win games for Australia ... and probably above all else his incredible skill as a leg spinner.

“So many guys in this team and squad who still hold him as a hero, their all-time favourite player. The loss that we’re all trying to wrap our heads around is huge.

“It’s been a really tough couple of days for Australian cricket, after the passing of Rod [Marsh], we just wish the best to both families ...

“The game was never the same after Warney emerged and the game will never be the same after his passing. Rest in peace, King.”

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“Perhaps a fitting tribute to this greatest of cricketers is that it is almost impossible to imagine our game without him. His magnetism, skill and sheer sense of theatre shaped a global generation’s love of the sport. He inspired millions. He made us watch. He let us fall in love and truly appreciate what had been a fading art. And perhaps best of all, he somehow, somehow always had us secretly wanting him to bowl - despite our knowledge that a short spell from this larrikin grand master could rip any given game away from us in minutes.

“He will be celebrated and memorialised on village grounds from Yorkshire to Melbourne as close fielders exclaim “bowling Warney” to every half decent delivery a leg spinner bowls. Thank you Shane, you were one of a kind. Harrogate Casuals CC.”

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“I never imagined that anyone could become a bigger hero for me than Dennis Lillee was when I was a boy. Childhood legends don’t get overthrown. Only, Shane did it,” emails Lindsay Went. “Richie Benaud had spent years creating the anticipation for another great Australian leg spinner. And then we got Shane. In our greatest era. I would get excited every time he came on to bowl.

“I stayed up at night time and again to watch him. I skipped Christmas with my family to watch him take his 700th wicket on Boxing Day. Now, I am just f***ing devastated. Thanks for the World Cup, thanks for the great overseas wins, thanks for bringing us so much excitement . You’re irreplaceable. And unforgettable.”

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A theory on why Warne should have opened the bowling at Trent Bridge in 2005 from Gary Naylor:

The England captain Joe Root speaks to Sky Sports: “It’s hard to know what to say ... growing up, he was an idol of mine ... to have the opportunity to spend some time with him, albeit not a lot, it’s deeply sad to hear this news ... I’d have been 14 when that 2005 Ashes series was on and that was a massive influence on my career ... those are the sorts of things that make you want to get into the game and play at the highest level ... he just wanted to see the game played at the peak of its powers ... He really loved the game of cricket and he was fun to be around ... deeply saddened to hear this news today.”

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The former England all-rounder Dominic Cork speaks to Sky Sports News:

“I was lucky enough to be around him quite a lot with commentary. Just being around him, he just enthused everything that you wanted to be as a person. He was enthusiastic about everything. Such sad, tragic news and the world of, not just cricket – the people who know Shane Warne, his friends, his family, this is a devastating loss and one that is going to take a long time to get over.

“When you talk about Shane Warne we always use the word legend ... but he is truly a legend in sport and a legend in cricket. In my opinion he is the best ever bowler in Test cricket ... it’s a shocking day, and one that will take a long time to sink in.

“He was a class above even someone like Abdul Qadir ... he knew the opposition were frightened of him ... but he still had the belief that: “I’ve got to work hard.” An outstanding talent ... he used to get so many revolutions off the ball, and spin off pitches that a lot of the spin bowlers couldn’t get.

“He had a belief that when he went out he was going to make the difference. In my opinion he was not one of the best, he was the best.

“He was an iconic individual, on an off the field ... it’s such a sad day ... for me, just iconic, an absolute legend that will never be replaced.”

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In a 2018 interview with the Australian broadcaster ABC, the bowler spoke about taking his record-breaking 700th wicket at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on the Boxing Day Test of the 2006 Ashes.

Another small Warne anecdote of mine is that I saw him play in a domestic match in Australia around 2001. If I remember correctly, his bowling took a bit of punishment from Greg Blewett in that match. It was an eye-opener, as it became clear that domestically, Warne’s bowling did not hold quite the same sense of theatre, or carry the same sense of fear, that it did for many opponents on the international stage.

As is being pointed out elsewhere, Warne allied an incredible talent and work ethic with an ability to think batsmen out, or simply scare them out with the force of his personality. He knew full well that he struck fear into batsmen and the sheer pressure he exerted on opponents, in tandem with Adam Gilchrist behind the stumps, was immense.

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The thoughts of the Guardian’s cricket correspondent, Ali Martin, on the death of Shane Warne:

“The highlight of my cricketing career was to keep wicket to Warnie. Best seat in the house to watch the maestro at work.”

I hardly need to tell you who has written that on Twitter. “Good areas, Shane!” ... “Like it, Shane!”

What a double act that was!

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Australian cricket – and indeed cricket in general – was already reeling following the death of Rodney Marsh. Here is our obituary of the trailblazing wicketkeeper:

“I’m in shock, as I am sure you are,” emails Matt Bullen. “I’m just a Guardian reader: about my strongest link to the game is having attended and played for the school where the word ‘cricket’ was supposedly first used, in the 1500s ... Anyway, when I just wrote a post about Shane on Facebook, I realised that most of my pals here in Seattle, where I now live, don’t follow cricket. So I wrote:

“I can barely believe that Shane Warne just died. He was only 52. Everyone’s in shock. An Australian cricketer who transformed the precise, gentle art of spin bowling into (in the best sense) a most macho, record-breaking form of athleticism. Plus a fun, warm guy. What a man.”

“Like all the other kids I was a fan of cricket and Shane was one of the childhood heroes alongside Sachin, Lara, Dravid, Flintoff,” emails Mishu Dhar, who is from Bangladesh, and currently living in Sweden. “Today I am feeling that a part of my childhood also died with Shane’s departure. Thanks to this legend for tons of sweet childhood memories and rest in peace.”

The former England batsman Mark Butcher is talking to Sky Sports News: “A man who lived it all and loved it all, on or off the cricket field ... it’s astonishing that he’s gone, it really is. I thought he was invincible. He will be sorely, sorely missed ... he was full of contradictions, he was a brilliant entertainer, a brilliant cricketer, and a top, top bloke.”

Mark Butcher batting against Shane Warne in 2001.
Mark Butcher batting against Shane Warne in 2001. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

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It is impossible to overstate the excitement that Warne’s arrival in England generated on that 1993 Ashes tour. He had such unbelievable charisma. My elder sister was graduating from Leeds University in the week of the Headingley Test, and she and my parents found themselves in the same Italian restaurant as the Australian squad one evening. They asked Warne for an autograph – of course he obliged and was unfailingly polite. At my cricket club that weekend we laughed at the thought of Warne and teammates enjoying a night out while some of the England team were probably cowering in their hotel rooms. Of course, much of that well-deserved hype and excitement around Warne and the Test series was due to having the Ashes live on terrestrial TV. Those were the days.

Shane Warne in 1993.
Shane Warne in 1993. Photograph: Colorsport/Shutterstock

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Thank you Gregg. What a desperately sad, shocking day for cricket. A reminder, I suppose, that for all the more important things occurring in the world at the moment, sport really does matter. Do feel free to email me or tweet any tributes to the great Shane Warne.

I’m going to pass the blog on to Luke McLaughlin now but before I go here is a collection of reader tributes:

Gerry Johnson: “I remember my jaw dropping when I saw that first ball against Mike Gatting and Warne’s every over (always full of variation) from then on left you on tenterhooks. He was such a part of the brilliant 2005 Ashes series that he’s always part of it for me despite him being on the losing side. A bit of a maverick and sometimes he said cringeworthy things but for me he’s one of the very best and I’m immensely sad at his departure.”

Sam Charlton: “As an Englishman who’s 31, I grew up with Shane Warne. I also regularly barked ‘bowling Shane’ to a good turning ball when playing cricket. What an immense loss to sport as a whole.”

Philip West: “So sad to hear this news. What a few people forget about the Gatting delivery is that prior to the first Test the Aussies played a few games against the counties and Warne was ordered to bowl utter dross to keep the element of surprise. I’m sure I read a preview of the series in the Guardian where he was dismissed as a threat completely. Cunning! RIP – a magnificent cricketer and an equally good bloke.”

Sandeep Halagali: “What a loss, a fantastic entertainer of the game, 25 years ago I remember we kids trying to copy Warnie’s bowling action as 12-year-olds on every Indian cricketing street, including his popular pulled up shirt sleeve. Warnie is loved in every cricketing street in India even though we have a fierce competition with the Australians. A happy go lucky bloke, may he rest in peace.”

James Butler: “I was at Old Trafford for the 2005 Ashes Test when Warne made 90 before holing out. Although I was desperate for England to win that Test I was also secretly rooting for Warne to reach his century and it was a mini tragedy when he was caught on the boundary. I loved watching him play: not just because of all the tricks, the little bits of magic and the verbals, but mostly because he always looked like a kid having the time of his life. He never did get that test ton.”

Mike Gatting, who was on the receiving end of the Ball of the Century, has been speaking to Sky Sports. Here’s a snippet of what he had to say:

I’m devastated and feel for his mum and his family. He did an awful lot for people off the pitch and [charity work] that wasn’t well-known. I think Warney will always be, certainly from my point of view, No1 [in cricket]. He had everything a cricketer needed. Self confidence, discipline, and desire – and he had time to enjoy it too. That resonated with a lot of youngsters. He inspired many to take up leg-spin. He was a guy who had different thoughts and new ideas and was never afraid to put them out int the open.”

When asked about the Ball of the Century, Gatting says he’s just glad that Warne went on to have such a remarkable career as it made him feel better about being on the end of it.

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'He was Peter Pan … he wanted bowling to be fun'

David Lloyd, a former England coach and player, has been speaking on talkSPORT:

Shane was generous to a fault. He lived life to the full, he was Peter Pan, but when it came to cricket, he was serious. He championed the game. He was serious about cricket but he wanted it to be fun. He wanted bowling to be fun, to smile at the opposition when they hit you for six. He had this God-given talent and he was so grateful for it that he always wanted to help other players. Any young spinner who came into the game at whatever level, he would go and talk to them, work with them, give them a pat on the back. He was an immense character, but as a player he was top of the tree. For me, he’s the best I’ve ever seen.

And Hampshire, the county in England that he captained between 2000 and 2007, have posted their own reaction to the sad news that cricket has lost “one of the greatest”.

Just watch this turn!

Jonathan Trott has just been talking about Warne’s legacy and he is a firm believer he made leg-spin trendy again. You can see why with balls like the one that bamboozled Andrew Strauss above.

A reader, Robert Wilson, writes: “It’s astounding news, blackly unexpected. And a reminder of mortality for several countryfuls and generations of men (I feel like putting my arms around Viv Richards and asking him only to eat salads). So much to celebrate in his picaresque and operatic career. An irresponsible meteor of talent simultaneously illuminating and terrifying the solar system. The lunatic extremity of his stock ball, the four or five completely fictional new deliveries he made world class batsmen worry about every couple of years, his riotously defiant batting (defiant even when they were ahead) and the deadliest straight ball any spinner will ever bowl. But what I will remember most is early in the 2005 tour my sinking heart and absolutely certainty when English fans and newspapers chanted and chortled that Warney was over the hill and a busted flush. It remains the single most expensive sledge in sporting history. Imagine doing that!”

Warne took his place in Guardian history in 2005 when he featured on the front page of the newspaper’s relaunched Berliner edition. He didn’t have many “bad days” – he was the player of the 2005 series alongside Andrew Flintoff – hence why he was front page news.

To try and define a colourful character such as Warne by statistics alone is daft, but his were not half bad were they?

708 – wickets for Warne in his 145 Tests, behind Sri Lanka star Muralitharan’s 800 but well ahead of third-placed England seamer James Anderson (640).

1,001 - Warne took another 293 wickets in one-day internationals to crack four figures for Australia in all formats - again only behind Muralitharan in the international record books.

99 - Warne’s best Test score as a batter – he has the most Test runs of any batsman not to make a century.

8-71 - his career-best figures across all first-class and limited-overs cricket, in a 1994 Test against England in Brisbane.

195 – Ashes wickets, the most in the competition’s history and 38 more than second-placed Glenn McGrath.

96 - Warne’s Test wicket tally in 2005, including 40 in a memorable Ashes series, remains a record for a player in a single calendar year. Muralitharan is closest behind him with 90 in 2006.

1994 - year Warne took a Test hat-trick, removing England tail-enders Phil DeFreitas, Darren Gough and Devon Malcolm in successive balls. It is one of only 46 hat-tricks in Test history.

450,000 – Warne’s price in the inaugural Indian Premier League auction, where he was bought by Rajasthan Royals. He spent four seasons there as both captain and coach and led them to victory in the first season of the competition.

England Cricket tweets:

Virat Kohli reckons there was no better spinner than Shane Warne: “Life is so fickle and unpredictable. I cannot process the passing of this great of our sport and also a person I got to know off the field. RIP #goat. Greatest to turn the cricket ball.”

And Sachin Tendulkar – like many of us – still can’t get his head around the news:

Sir Viv Richards has tweeted his reaction to Warne’s death:

And here’s the view of an Australian reader, Conor Walsh, who believes Warne was rooted in his childhood. “I’m a 27-year-old Melburnian. It feels like my whole life and view as a cricket fan has been through Warne’s lens. When I was growing up, if anyone ever bowled a nice delivery at lunchtime at school we’d say: ‘Bowling, Shane!’. It was a natural part of our vernacular. He was an icon for us all. A truly shocking loss.”

It is the middle of the night in Australia so many in Warne’s home country will not be aware of the sad news just yet but in England, despite Warne’s ability to heap misery on the national team with such regularity, Warne’s death has left many stunned. Many tributes I have read sum up his personality as much as his incredibly ability – he was always very likeable in England due to his lightness of touch and playfulness.

One reader, Robert Ellson, writes: “I think Warne’s greatness was reflected in the fact that England cricket fans loved him even as he was destroying us in Ashes series after Ashes series. I remember being in the pavilion at Edgbaston in 1993 as the Aussie players came in from their pre-match warm-ups. ‘Go easy on us today, Shane,’ said an English voice from the crowd. “Aw, I can’t do that mate, I’d get in shit,” Warne twinkled back. Lovely.

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Of course, Shane Warne announced himself as a cricketing superstar with the Ball of the Century in 1993, when the spinner’s drifting, leaping leg-break bowled England’s Mike Gatting at Old Trafford. We ranked it as our No 1 Ashes moment in 2013. Here’s what Barney Ronay wrote at the time:

Warne’s Ball, a hard-spun leg-break to dismiss Mike Gatting on the third day of the Old Trafford Test, is still jarringly fresh even as it approaches its 20th birthday this Ashes summer. Warne’s Ball remains a pure and entirely self-contained sporting miniature. There may come a point – a thousand YouTube montages, a million lunch interval documentaries from now – where it is possible not to be startled by the impact of that drifting, leaping leg-break (and Gatting’s trudge: never underestimate Gatting’s trudge) but it seems safe to say this is still some way off.

You can read the full piece here:

And here’s the video of that moment of magic:

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The England team are in Antigua as they prepare for their Test series against West Indies. They too have been stunned by the news and have just observed a minute’s silence before play resumes on day four of their warmup match.

England players and staff stand for a moments silence in memory of Australian cricketer Shane Warne.
England players and staff stand for a moments silence in memory of Australian cricketer Shane Warne. Photograph: Gareth Copley/Getty Images

Ben Stokes tweeted:

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Shane Warne (1969-2022)

Shane Warne, one of the finest bowlers of all time who revived the art of leg-spin, has died aged 52 following a suspected heart attack. This is truly shocking news. Not just within cricket but in the wider world, too. Warne was a true sporting icon, a larger than life character whose 708 Test wickets have only been surpassed by contemporary rival and fellow spinner Muttiah Muralitharan.

A statement from Warne’s management company said: “It is with great sadness we advise that Shane Keith Warne passed away of a suspected heart attack in Koh Samui, Thailand today, Friday 4 March. 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.”

Warne - who was the joint-leading wicket-taker as Australia won the 1999 World Cup and finished with 293 one-day dismissals in 194 matches - brought an illustrious 15-year international career to an end in 2007.

It is an incredibly sad time for Australian cricket, following the news of wicketkeeper Rod Marsh’s death, which Warne was commenting on himself only 12 hours ago. The Australia 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 can not believe it. rip, you will both be missed.

I will bring you the latest tributes here and please email me with your own.

Updated

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