No foul play suspected in death of Shane Warne
● Australians laid tributes of flowers and beer bottles at a statue of Shane Warne in Melbourne yesterday, after the country woke to the shocking news the cricketing great had died from a suspected heart attack while on holiday in Thailand.
As many in the sporting world and beyond expressed grief, Prime Minister Scott Morrison offered Warne’s family a state funeral for the sportsman known to his compatriots simply as “Warnie”.
“Shane was one of our greatest cricketers of all time ... but Shane was more than this to Australians. Shane was one of our nation’s greatest characters,” Morrison said.
One of the finest bowlers of all time whose talent and personality transcended cricket, Warne died at the age of 52 on Friday, shortly after arriving on the island of Koh Samui for a vacation.
Thai police said yesterday they were not treating his death as suspicious and Warne’s body would be transferred to the mainland for a full autopsy to determine the cause of death.
Warne’s death dominated local media yesterday, pushing news of devastating floods on the east coast of Australia and the war in Ukraine off the top of news bulletins and websites.
On social media, tributes from fellow players were joined by celebrity fans such as rock stars Mick Jagger, Elton John and Ed Sheeran.
Martin Pakula, sports minister of Warne’s home state Victoria, said the Great Southern Stand at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, where the spinner took his 700th wicket on Boxing Day 2006, would be renamed the SK Warne Stand. The new moniker references the cricketer’s first and middle name, Keith.
Thai police said one of three friends staying with Warne in a private villa went to check on the former cricketer when he did not turn up for dinner on Friday. Finding Warne unconscious, the friend performed CPR, which was again attempted by paramedics and staff at a hospital.
Thai police said Warne’s body would be sent to Surat Thani, about 80km away, for an autopsy. The villa where Warne had been discovered unconscious was under heavy security and images shared by police from earlier in the day showed three men wearing face masks and casual attire sitting together in a lounge area with tourist and immigration police present.
Warne’s last Tweet was a tribute to another former Australian cricket great, wicketkeeper Rod Marsh, who died earlier on Friday at the age of 74.
Australia’s men’s and women’s teams wore black armbands in Warne’s honour when they played matches in Pakistan and New Zealand respectively yesterday.
Credited with reviving the art of leg spin, Warne made his test debut in 1992 against India, kicking off a 15-year international career. Warne was rated as one of the five greatest players of the 20th century by Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack but his hard living often made tabloid headlines as well.
The wily spinner frequently courted controversy and served a 12-month suspension after testing positive for banned diuretics in 2003.
“Of course he was controversial, but also put cricket on the map for a lot of people,” Sydney resident Eddie Piazza said. “So he did a couple of crazy things, but what a legend and we should remember him for the good things.”