Another life cut short

‘Larger than life”. It’s a common epithet after a sudden and unexpected death. Few would have been surprised to hear it spoken after the death of Australian cricketer Shane Warne at the age of 52 last week. His was a big presence in sport and media.

As one of the greatest the sport has known, Warne has quite rightly been mourned widely. His bowling skill was sensational and his commentary on the game was world-class. But amongst the tributes were references to his excessive lifestyle.

Stunned by news of his early death, fans gathered at Warne’s statue outside the Melbourne Cricket Ground placing flowers — and also beer, cigarettes, pies, and cans of baked beans.

Australian cricketer Ian Healy suggested Warne lived by alternating between packing weight on and taking drastic action to lose it.

“An early passing didn’t surprise me for Warnie,” Healy told The Today Show.

“He didn’t look after his body that well. He yo-yoed up and down.”

A Cricket Australia doctor was even more insightful, noting Warne’s heart problems were coming a long time.

Dr Peter Brukner, the former medic for the Australian men’s cricket team, said Warne likely had heart disease towards the end of his life. “It’s been happening for 20, 30 years from smoking, poor diet, etc, etc,” he told Triple M Perth.

Warne prided himself on his larrikinism.

The opening page of his autobiography cites how he knew he’d made it, relaxing in an English hotel room, “steadily making my way through a pack of Blue Winnies, nibbling on the extraordinary puffed potato of my monster munch, and sipping on a tin of Carling”.

Of course, our life choices are our own.

Whether we booze, smoke, or eat to excess is up to us.

But glorifying it is urging others to take a similar spin with fate. There’s nothing heroic in leaving our families, our friends, admirers, and colleagues grieving prematurely and unnecessarily.

None of us is truly “larger than life” and the more we understand that the better the choices we might make.

Warne leaves behind his three kids Jackson, Brooke and Summer.

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