CANBERRA (AUSTRALIA) — Shane Warne, Australia’s finest leg-spinner of all time, has died at the age of 52.
Warne’s management issued a brief statement on Friday, stating that he died of a suspected heart attack in Koh Samui, Thailand.
“Shane was found unresponsive in his villa and despite the best efforts of medical staff, he could not be revived,” the statement reads, adding, “The family requests privacy at this time and will provide further details in due course.”
The announcement is the second terrible blow for Australian cricket in less than a day, following the death of fellow great Rod Marsh on Friday after suffering a fatal heart attack last week.
Warne, affectionately known as ‘Warnie,’ is idolized by millions across the world and is often considered as the greatest bowler to ever play the game.
His spectacular international career extended 15 years and saw him collect 708 Test wickets, the most ever for an Australian and the second-highest all-time, trailing only Muttiah Muralitharan.
After making his Test debut at the SCG in 1992, Warne grew to become a pivotal character in one of the greatest eras of continuous domination by any side in international cricket.
He was a member of Australia‘s World Cup-winning squad in 1999, as well as five Ashes-winning teams between 1993 and 2003.
