Shane Warne - Tributes, memories and updates

Afghanistan legspinner Rashid Khan, on the sidelines of his team's T20I against Bangladesh in Dhaka, paid rich tribute to Shane Warne.

"It's a shock for every cricketer around the world. Especially as a legspinner, someone like him... I think I have no words how to react. Condolences to his family, his friends...

"It was a huge honour for me, I bowled with him at MCG [on the sidelines of Boxing Day Test in 2019]. I was very, very keen to bowl with him for my long-format [learnings], especially Test cricket. He told me whenever you are with me I will be happy to help you with the format and I was just waiting for that opportunity. We talked when I was in Big Bash this year as well, we talked about the long format, he called me and we discussed this.

"When I heard that he has passed away, that was what came into my mind, that day at MCG, how good he was with me, how kind he was with me, he was someone who totally wanted to share his experience. Can't believe it... Sad day for everyone in cricket.

"It was super tough [preparing for today's game]. I did not know how to go on and play cricket, he was in my mind the whole night. I was not believing it when I woke up on the morning, I checked my phone a couple of times... 'What happened last night?' It's very hard to accept that."

Over in New Zealand, King took 3 for 59 to help Australia kick off their campaign with a 12-run win over England. She spoke about Warne's influence on her after the game.

An Australia win over England is a pretty appropriate way to say goodbye to Shane Warne and Rod Marsh… That’s what happened across at the Women’s World Cup today, and Rachael Haynes, the Player of the Match in a 12-run win, spoke about the players’ reaction.

“There's people processing grief and those sorts of things at the moment, so yeah, it was certainly a challenging 48 hours leading in (to the game),” she said. “We woke up to the news, it was obviously really shocking. We'd known obviously that Rod Marsh had passed away and, yeah, to wake up this morning and hear that a legend of the game in Shane Warne had passed away, it was just utter shock within the group.

“Alyssa Healy and I were chatting before the game and just sitting in the (change room) and saying, you know, life is really fragile. And we think a tournament like this is pretty significant, but (it) probably just reinforced to us the ability to go out there and actually enjoy today and enjoy the game, because it's just really sad that things can be taken away so quickly from you.”

Mike Gatting, the unfortunate recipient of "the ball of the century", has no doubts about the enduring quality of the bowler of that delivery. Here's Gatting to Sky Sports News:

"Without a doubt, he is the No. 1 ever. I should think there have been a lot of great cricketers, great spinners and great legspinners but Warnie will always be, certainly from my point of view, the No. 1.

"Absolutely devastating and I just feel so sad for his family. It is a huge loss to many, many people.

"He had all the things a cricketer needed, a lot of self-confidence, a lot of ability, the discipline, passion and desire. Above all he had time to enjoy it. He had great fun playing cricket and resonated with a lot of youngsters."

Former Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga, who took Warne on in the 1996 World Cup final and had a tetchy relationship with him off the field, pays tribute:

Across in New Zealand, the Women's World Cup is on... and in the White Ferns' coaching staff is Jacob Oram, who played with and against Warne.

Ahead of the second day's play in Rawalpindi, the Australia Test captain talks about how his team is processing the news of the death of two icons of Australian cricket.

The Indian and Sri Lankan cricketers, who are playing a Test in Mohali at the moment, wore black armbands and observed a minute's silence before the start of the second day's play to honour the memory of Shane Warne and Rod Marsh.

As we informed you earlier, the Great Southern Stand at the MCG will be renamed the SK Warne stand in perpetuity. Alex Malcolm has the details.

[Courtesy Fox Cricket]

The tributes continue to pour in even as the news sinks in. Here's Ricky Ponting...

Alex Malcolm, who is at the MCG, reports that Victoria government are going to rename the MCG Southern stand the SK Warne stand

Australia have just got their ODI World Cup underway against England in Hamilton and before the match they paid their tributes.

"It’s been really sad to obviously lose two icons of Australian cricket in the space of 24 hours," Alyssa Healy said to Fox Cricket. "Yeah, pretty hard to take but this group’s going really well and we just go out there with smiles on our faces and know that for everybody hopefully we can help them enjoy for a couple of hours."

At the toss, captain Meg Lanning said: "Losing Rod and Shane over the last couple of days has been very sad and our thoughts go out to the family and friends. They were two icons of the game who made massive impacts and certainly their mark has been left, so a very sad time and hopefully we can do them proud today."

Allan Border, who was captain of Australia when Shane Warne made his debut against India, has reflected on his career which had a difficult start but soon blossomed.

"It was very hard to comprehend, losing Shane Warne on top of Rod Marsh," Border told Fox Sports. "A devastating couple of days for everyone who knew them well and the cricket community generally. Hard to put into words what’s just happened.

"It sounds easy to say now, but even at the time I thought there was just something about this young bloke. An air of confidence about him. His figures weren’t that flattering but there was something about his confidence and the way he landed the legspinners…1 for 150 wasn’t a great start, but once he got a feel for what was required he was like a sponge. He learnt so quickly. By the time we went to England in 1993 we had the real deal. Just special. Probably didn’t predict 700-plus. Test wickets. I can’t believe he’s gone, still think I’m going to wake up and it will be a terrible dream."

Following Joe Root's tribute, England allrounder Ben Stokes spoke after the final day of their warm-up match

"Just after the news we had the day before with [Rod] Marsh and obviously hear about Shane today was devastating," he said. "For the world of cricket and obviously people like myself who got to know him personally very well. It’s very sad but, I think, a reflection of him as a man and not only as a cricketer was shown today in the tributes being paid to him.

"A legend of the game, one of the greats and he gave so much time to everyone. I think that shouldn’t be overlooked. As great a player he was I think the man that he was needs to be respected as well."

Shane Warne's family have been offered a state funeral by Victoria Premier Dan Andrews

“To us, he was the greatest – but to his family, he was so much more,” Mr Andrews said.

“Our hearts are breaking for Shane’s family and friends – and they are in the thoughts of all Victorians.

“I have offered a state funeral to his family so Victorians can pay tribute to his legacy and contribution to our state, community and country.”

Meanwhile, Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison has also paid tribute.

“Australians have woken in shock and sadness to the awful news of the death of Shane Warne, aged just 52,” he wrote.

“Shane was one of our greatest cricketers of all time, one of only a few that could approach the extraordinary achievements of the great Don Bradman.

“His achievements were the product of his talent, discipline and passion for the game he loved. “But Shane was more than this to Australians. He was one of our nation’s greatest characters. His humour, his passion, his irreverence, his approachability ensured he was loved by all.

“Australians loved him. We all did. We are all bewildered today by this sad and sudden loss.

“And for this to happen the day after losing the indomitable Rod Marsh, it doesn’t seem imaginable.

“There was none like Shane. He lived his life his way. He had his great achievements, but also his regrets. He carried them all the same way. With a cheeky smile and a zest for life.

“Our love and condolences go to Shane’s family and particularly his children Brooke, Jackson, & Summer.”

This is by no means a full list of his finest achievements, but have your say as to which of these stand out the most

Not that any reminder was needed, but this shows the stature Warne was held in over in the UK

Good morning, everyone. It's 10am on the east coast of Australia and the country has woken to the awful news overnight of Shane Warne's death. We will continue to post the latest tributes and reactions here over the next few hours

Joe Root, the England Test captain in Antigua for a Tour match in preparation for their series against West Indies, shares his thoughts on Shane Warne.

With the Australian Women's World Cup squad waking up in New Zealand to the sad news of Shane Warne's passing, leg-spinning allrounder Alana King has paid tribute to her inspiration. King made her international debut during the recent Women's Ashes series. Australia are due to play England in their opening match of the tournament later on Saturday.

The Reuters news agency reports that Thai Police said Warne and three other friends were staying in a private villa and one of them went to inquire about him after he failed to turn up for dinner.

"The friend did CPR on him and called an ambulance," Chatchawin Nakmusik, an officer with the Bo Put police on Koh Samui, told Reuters by phone.

"An emergency response unit then arrived and did another CPR for 10-20 minutes. Then an ambulance from the Thai International Hospital arrived and took him there. They did CPR for five minutes, and then he died."

They did not know the cause of death but were not treating it as suspicious, added Chatchawin.

How good was Warne? Well, VVS Laxman’s description of how Sachin Tendulkar prepared to take Warne on is a fair indicator… Check out the Star Sports Cricket Connected video here.

Pat Cummins, the Australia men’s captain, has paid tribute to Shane Warne from Pakistan, where the sides have finished the first day of their first Test in Rawalpindi. Here's what Cummins said:

“On behalf of the entire playing group and support staff here in Pakistan, I want to express our shock and sadness over Shane’s sudden passing. We are all numbed by the news.

“Shane was a once-in-a-century cricketer and his achievements will stand for all time, but apart from the wickets he took and the games he helped Australia win, what he did was draw so many people to the sport.

“So many of us in the playing group grew up idolising him and fell in love with this great sport as a result, while many of our support staff either played with him or against him.

“It has been a terrible couple of days for Australian cricket with the passing of Rod Marsh and now Shane. Our thoughts are with both families and, in Shane’s case, particularly with his parents Keith and Bridgette, his brother Jason and his children Jackson, Summer and Brooke.

“The game of cricket was never the same after Shane emerged, and it will never be the same now he has gone. Rest in peace King.”

Australian cricket, along with the whole cricketing world, is in a state of shock at the loss of Shane Warne, a true cricketing genius, who has died aged 52.

Warne almost single-handedly reinvented the art of leg-spin when he burst onto the international scene in the early 1990s, and by the time he retired from international cricket in 2007 he had become the first bowler to reach 700 Test wickets.

A central figure in Australia’s ICC Cricket World Cup triumph in 1999, when he was player of the match in both the semi-final and the final, Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack recognised Shane’s achievements by naming him as one of its Five Cricketers of the Twentieth Century.

Shane’s strength of character and enormous resilience saw him bounce back from career-threatening finger and shoulder injuries, and his stamina, his sheer will to win, and his self-belief were key factors in Australia’s great side of the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Shane finished his international career with 708 Test wickets and a further 293 in One-Day Internationals, placing him second in the list of all-time international wicket-takers behind his great friend and rival Muthiah Muralidaran of Sri Lanka (1347). Shane also captained Australia in 11 One-Day Internationals, winning 10 and losing just once.

At first-class level he was a passionate Victorian and enjoyed a long association with English county Hampshire. And at the end of his playing career, he also had successful stints in the Indian Premier League, captaining the Rajasthan Royals to the inaugural title in 2008, and the Big Bash League in Australia with the Melbourne Stars.

After he hung up his bowling boots, Shane continued to offer so much to the sport as a coach and commentator. In 2021 he worked with the London Spirit in the inaugural edition of The Hundred in the United Kingdom, something he was set to reprise this year.

He also worked as a broadcaster, and his forthright views and incredible insights gave viewers all over the world a deeper insight into the sport he loved.

Cricket Australia Chief Executive Officer Nick Hockley, in Pakistan for the first Test of the Benaud-Qadir Trophy 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.

“Wisden named him as one of the five cricketers of the twentieth century and he was rightly placed alongside the names of Bradman, Hobbs, Sobers and Vivian Richards.

“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.”

Not to forget Warne’s association with Rajasthan Royals. We spoke to Darren Berry, who was the franchise’s chief of coaching in the inaugural edition of the IPL, soon after they won that tournament.

Q: There was this unique sense of camaraderie among the Royals. You seemed to be able to make the players believe they were one family?

A: I believe that was the difference between us and the rest of the sides. It's an immeasurable thing but it was important. During a mini-break in mid-May, when some of us foreigners went to Goa to relax, (Swapnil) Asnodkar, who is a native, invited us to have dinner at his family home one night. Warne, Shane Watson, Graeme Smith, myself and (Jeremy) Snape got into a car and drove 45 minutes to Swapnil's house. His parents were there along with his grandfather, who came up later and said, in Hindi, "I can die a happy man. Shane Warne is sitting in my lounge room ..."

In 2007, Warne's mentor, the late Terry Jenner, who was also a legspinner, spoke to ESPNcricinfo on the art of spin.

We asked Jenner, “What would you say are the attributes of a good spinner?”

He said, “Courage, skill, patience, unpredictability, and spin. You get bits and pieces of all those, but if you have got spin then there is always a chance you can develop the other areas. For all the brilliant things that people saw Warne do, his greatest strength was the size of the heart, and that you couldn't see.”

This is another piece from the archives, written by Gideon Haigh who has produced some of the best work about Shane Warne.

Warne was an extraordinary bowler. It can't really be said often enough. He will personify legbreak bowling for as long as the skill exists. If and when an outstanding new purveyor achieves note, the question will be: how does he compare with Warne? As fascinating to watch as were Anil Kumble and Mushtaq Ahmed, Warne's was the style to study and emulate - so simple, so unadorned, so apparently artless. So epic were his feats, too, that it is hard to recall legbreak bowling before him. In the 1980s, of course, there were the mysteries and intrigues of Abdul Qadir. But Qadir's wickets down under cost 61 runs each. Had Cormac McCarthy written a novel of Australian cricket at the time, in fact, it would have been called No Country for Young Legspinners. That was certainly the attitude, when Warne first played Sheffield Shield, of his captain Simon O'Donnell and coach Les Stillman. Seldom has received wisdom been more promptly and utterly routed.

Warne cut a swathe through batsmen in the early 1990s who had seen nothing remotely similar for generations - which was amazing. Then he cut another swathe and another - which was miraculous. After his Test debut in England, with its fabled "Gatting ball", Warne's bowling average was 28. It diminished to 22.55, grew to 26.7, and finally settled at 25.4. Until then legspin had been a speculative investment, cricket's venture capital; Warne made it into bowling bricks and mortar. Everything told you it should be otherwise. Batsman would get used to him. Coaches would work him out. Curators would prepare flat pitches. All these were before the physical dangers Warne posed to himself, for legspin involves colossal efforts at pivotal points in the human anatomy. And, to an extent, all the aforementioned possibilities eventuated. In each case, though, Warne rose to the challenge of counteracting them. He kept getting batsmen bowled. He kept getting them lbw. He kept getting them WTF. He had almost no right to, but he did.

Shane Warne produced some extraordinary numbers over his career. Here's just a few:

Those involved in the tour match in the Caribbean where England are preparing for their Test series showed their respect

Shane Warne was a wonderful, thrilling, exciting cricketer to write about. Here's a selection of pieces from over the years:

Hate to Love by Andrew Fidel Fernando

Warne's still scrapping by Jon Hotten