Family fight to get Warne back home
SHANE WARNE’S family were last night battling to return his body to Australia as tributes to one of cricket’s greatest players continued to pour in.
Warne, 52, died of a suspected heart attack at the luxury Samujana Villas resort on the island of Koh Samui on Friday evening and Thai authorities said they must now complete an autopsy to determine the cause of death. But the father of three’s family want his body to be repatriated as soon as possible.
Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan and former India captain Rahul Dravid were among those who paid their respects.
‘A bowling genius who took the art of leg spin to new heights,’ said Khan. Dravid said it had been one of his great privileges to play alongside the Australian for Rajasthan Royals.
His former fiancee Liz Hurley wrote: ‘I feel like the sun has
gone behind a cloud forever. RIP my beloved Lionheart.’
In their Mail On Sunday columns, former team-mate Jason Gillespie said Australia would never stop trying to win until Warne gave up, something he never did during a career of 708 Test wickets, more than 1000 across all internationals plus a 1999 World Cup win.
England star Stuart Broad revealed how the generosity of the former Hampshire captain regularly resulted in him helping those on the other side of the Ashes divide.
Andrew Neophitou, a member of Warne’s management company, found his friend unresponsive in his room on Friday evening and desperately tried to revive him by performing CPR for 20 minutes without success.
Thai police revealed yesterday that they found his room splattered with bloodstains from the prolonged CPR but have ruled out foul play.
A police forensics team found two spots of blood on the carpet at the foot of Warne’s bed and spots of blood on a pillow. Ambulance crews also reported a pool of vomit by the bed.
Australian government officials met with Warne’s travel companions in Koh Samui to discuss sending his body back to Melbourne as soon as possible.
Warne had arrived in Thailand just one night before his death, for a week-long boys’ trip with Neophitou and two others. He had planned to meet friends for a drink at 5pm but when the ever-punctual Warne was 15 minutes late, it was clear something was not right.
Warne’s long time manager James Erskine told Fox Sport: ‘Neo knocked on his door at 5.15 because Warnie is always on time. And he went in there and said, “Come on, you’re going to be late” and then realised something was wrong.
‘And he turned him over and gave him CPR and mouth to mouth, which lasted about 20 minutes and then the ambulance came. They took him to the hospital, which was about a 20-minute drive and I got a phone call about 45 minutes later saying he was pronounced dead.’
Erskine added: ‘He didn’t drink much. Everyone thinks he’s a big boozer but he’s not at all. I sent him a crate of wine, 10 years later it’s still there. He doesn’t drink, never took drugs. He hated drugs, so nothing untoward.’