SHANE WARNE was arguably cricket’s greatest spin bowler and one of the most charismatic sport stars in the world.
Today, Australian cricketer Shane Warne died from a suspected heart attack on the tropical island Koh Samui, Thailand, at the age of 52.
He was a no-nonsense bowler with an arm like lightning on the field- but he also entertained his fans with legendary TV appearances, from Neighbours to I’m A Celebrity and Kath and Kim.
Shane appeared on the Australian soap Neighbours in July and September 2006. He guest starred in two episodes titled Ain’t That A Shane and The Warne Identity.
The cricketer visited Ramsay Street to help raise funds for his charity, the Shane Warne foundation, who assists seriously ill and underprivileged children.
He acted alongside iconic cast members including Jackie Woodburne (Susan Kennedy), Tom Oliver (Lou Carpenter) and Alan Fletcher (Karl Kennedy).
He came to Erinsborough to pick up a cheque for his charity from Harold Bishop (Ian Smith).
The cast were thrilled to meet the iconic fast bowler on set and was clearly over the moon to be acting alongside the legendary Aussie sporting star.
In one scene, Shane showed off his iconic spin bowl that left the cast members elated.
In 2007, Shane made an appearance in Aussie sitcom Kath and Kim, which follows a dysfunctional mother-daughter duo as they navigate through relationship troubles, personal issues and life while trying to stay sane.
In one episode titled Wedding of the Century, he guest-starred as Wayne, a Shane Warne impersonator who wooed Magda Szubanski’s character Sharon and later marries her.
The cricketer, who captained the Australian national team in One Day Internationals, was courageous on the field and equally determined off it when he signed up for I’m A Celebrity in 2016.
He exited Channel Ten’s show after being voted out of the South African jungle days ahead of its finale.
Reflecting on the experience, Warne said: “It is an amazing feeling … on the one hand I am very relieved and excited that you’re out but to go six weeks and to get so close to go to that final three is sort of disappointing too.”
“It feels good to be out and I look forward to seeing the family and friends and children and everything,” he said.
His highlights on the program included being bitten on the head by an anaconda and later revealing that he’s lost 13kg in weight from the lack of food in camp.
He had since become a familiar face on TV, regularly working as a pundit and commentator for Sky Sports.
He made numerous TV appearances on UK shows, including Lorraine, Alan Carr: Chatty Man, Parkinson and The Graham Norton Show.
This year he released his documentary titled Shane, which shared an intimate portrayal of Warne’s larger-than-life character, whose reputation on and off the green pitch saw his fame transcend cricket.
Fox Sports, who he commentated for, reported that he was “found unresponsive in his villa” and “despite the best efforts of medical staff, he could not be revived”.
Tributes have poured in to mark the legend’s passing including from Gary Lineker, who said he couldn’t “quite believe it”.
The Match Of The Day star added: “Terribly saddened and shocked to hear the news that Shane Warne has died. The greatest spin bowler of all time.”
Sun columnist Piers Morgan tweeted: “He was a genius cricketer, a supreme entertainer, a fantastic bloke and a great loyal friend for many years.”
Widely considered one of the greatest cricketers of all time, Shane’s iconic ‘Ball of the Century’ at Old Trafford in 1993 is to this day the sport’s most-watched clip in history.
Against England, he delivered a legendary bowl, later known as the ‘Ball of the Century’, against Mike Gatting in the following year’s Ashes.
In a purely magical moment, he caught the batsman off-guard with a drift and spin that led to gasps in the stadium and mockery.
“He looked as though someone had just nicked his lunch,” former England captain Graham Gooch commented on Mike’s reaction.
In 1999, Shane was the joint-leading wicket-taker for Australia when they won the World Cup.
Performance was everything to Shane, who took 708 test wickets and scored more than 3,000 test runs during a stellar international career that spanned 15 years until 2007.
Shane broke a number of Ashes records including most wickets in competition history with 195, which was 38 more than second-place Glenn McGrath.
‘Cricket is a simple game’
Despite the difficulties that dogged Shane’s career, it seemed he never let it impact his performance.
This came even during the 2005 Ashes when England won and the fans brutally sang “Where’s your missus gone?” for hours.
He said: “The only way I got over everything was because I was tough upstairs. I blocked everything out.”
Shane’s talent was unquestionable and while his personal life was rocky at times, the cricketer was always refreshingly honest.
He said: “I don’t pretend to be the perfect person, I’ve got loads of faults.”
It’s hard to quantify the blood, sweat and tears Shane poured into the game, but to him it never seemed that tricky.
He said: “To me, cricket is a simple game. Keep it simple and just go out and play.”
