He was the Australian spin bowling wizard who was such a magical player that England fans loved him too. Shane Warne’s private life also conjured up numerous headlines.
Millions of people felt they knew the giant of the game who wore his heart on his sleeve. He died yesterday aged 52 from a suspected heart attack.
Warne had been on holiday with three friends in a villa in Koh Samui, Thailand, when they found him unresponsive.
The pals performed CPR before an ambulance took him to hospital. He could not be revived. A postmortem is due to be carried out.
Fellow cricket legend Sir Ian Botham, 66, said: “I’ve lost a great friend on and off the playing field. One of the best.”
Commentator Henry Blofeld, 82, said: “Shane Warne, the greatest bowler ever who taught me to drink Jagerbombs.”
Pop star Ed Sheeran, 31, said: “Shane was the kindest heart, and always went above and beyond to make people feel welcome and special. Such a gentleman.
"He gave so many hours and years of his life to bring joy to others, and was such an amazing friend to me. I’ll bloody miss you mate. Absolutely gutted."
England players and staff, on tour in the West Indies, observed a minute’s silence in memory of Warne.
As a sportsman, pundit and professional poker player, his life burned brightly. There were scandals and a soap opera lifestyle – including headlines about womanising and an engagement to actress Liz Hurley.
Despite the fame and antics, there was always an honesty about him that never failed to charm.
“I live in the moment, so sometimes you don’t think about the consequences and that was probably most of my trouble,” he once reflected on his rollercoaster life.
“I’m not proud of all of my decisions. I made some horrible mistakes and choices with things.
“But I was always true to myself and that’s what I’m proud of today.”
He was born in 1969 to German-born mum Bridgette and dad Keith in the suburbs of Melbourne.
Warne always had that twinkle. Describing himself as "mischievous," but never “nasty”. He recalled how before caning him, his headmaster would say: “Bend over, Warne, it’s time to practise my golf swing”.
Warne wasn’t academic, instead he loved the beach and thrived on sport. His ambition was to be an Australian rules footballer. He once said: “I only played cricket because my mates did.”But as cricket’s luck would have it, his first love didn’t work out.
He played for the reserves for professional Aussie rules club St Kilda but was let go aged 19 and then began taking cricket more seriously while picking up odd jobs delivering beds and pizzas.
By 1990 he was training with the Australian Cricket Academy and then joined Accrington Cricket Club in Lancashire. By the end of 1991 he was playing first class cricket in Australia.
A year later the leg spinner had made his debut for the national side.
And by the end of his 15-year international career in 2007 he had taken 708 Test wickets – only surpassed by fellow spinner Muttiah Muralitharan – and scored more than 3,000 Test runs.
He is best known by some for the Ball of the Century – his first ball in Ashes cricket, when he bamboozled England batsman Mike Gatting in 1993 with a delivery that hit the off stump after turning almost square.
Much like his hair, gelled in a range of spiky styles, Warne was never going to be a player who towed the line.
His antics included mooning at crowds.
In 1994 he was accused of providing match information to a bookie, which Warne insisted was unintentional. Though he did admit he had been “stupid and naive”.
In 2003, Warne received a 12-month suspension when he was found to have taken a banned diuretic. The devastated cricketer said it was given to him by his mum to help with weight loss after he “put on a few kilos”.
He added: “That was a pretty innocent mistake and something I paid heavily for.”
And then there were the women.
In 2005 his 10-year marriage to Simone Callahan, mother of his three children, Brooke, 24, Summer, 20, and son Jackson, 22, broke down very publicly when Warne’s numerous infidelities were revealed.
Warne, whose favourite movie was American Pie and who loved a cigarette and a pint, had just welcomed his wife and children to Britain for the start of the Ashes series when she discovered he had been chasing other women.
She packed up and left with the kids. In a recent Amazon documentary, Warne talked about hitting rock bottom. “I think that was the lowest,” he said. “The impact on my children, they wouldn’t get to see me and that was my fault.
“I would go back and raid the mini bar. I was on my own on the hotel room floor, crying ‘you d***head’.” The Barmy Army sang “where’s your missus gone?”.
The following year there was a threesome with two models. Photos ended up in the press showing Warne in his Playboy underwear.
He later wrote: “I’m not a criminal… yes, I’m into women, which has cost me massively, time after time.” In 2010 his lovelife hit the headlines again when he and Brit star Liz Hurley, 56, got together.
Their engagement lasted until 2013. Warne lost weight, and was rumoured to have tried Botox.
He was open about insecurities over his appearance, especially his baldness, for which he underwent treatment, advertising hair loss treatment company Advanced Hair Studio.
He described his time with Liz as “the happiest years of my life”.
In recent years he was thought to be single, but actively dating on Tinder, according to friends.
But for all the circus, the lovable Aussie will always be an icon for his achievements on the cricket pitch.
The bowler, described as a “genius” by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, no less, will always remain the bowling wizard who made batsmen weep.
