Whether it was his bleach blonde hair or his devastating spin bowling which had batters quivering and quaking, Shane Warne did things his own way.
The Australian cricket great died at the age of 52 from a suspected heart attack on Friday, according to a statement from his management team. Warne took over 1,000 international wickets, including 708 Test wickets — second only to Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan — during his illustrious career and retired from cricket in 2013 as one of the greatest to ever play the sport. He was a leading figure of the dominant Australian side of the late 1990s and early 2000s, winning multiple Ashes series and the World Cup in 1999. Allied to his dominance with the ball was his charismatic personality, which transformed Warne from cricket star to global sporting superstar. «Warnie was an all time great, a once in a century type cricketer, and his records will live on forever,» said current Australia captain Pat Cummins, dubbing Warne «King» in his statement. «We all grew up watching Warnie, idolising him, we all had posters on his wall, had his earrings. What we loved so much about Warnie was his showmanship, his charisma, his tactics, the way he willed himself and the team around him to will teams around him to win games for Australia, and above all else his incredible skills as a leg-spinner. «There’s so many guys in this team and squad who still hold him as a hero… all-time favorite player. The game was never the same after Warnie emerged and the game will never be the same after his passing. «Rest in peace, King.» Ball of the century Warne wasn’t just a bowler capable of dominating matches almost single handedly, he was also an entertainer, happy to engage in banter with England fans and often the subject of tabloid headlines. If his first year as an international player gave a few indications that he was destined for success, a single ball he bowled in Manchester in 1993 completely changed perceptions about the bowler.
