The spin wizard was the highest wicket-taker for Australia in Test cricket in his career which spanned for nearly 15 years.
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Australian legend and the greatest leg-spinner of all-time Shane Warne has passed away on Friday evening due to a suspected heart attack. He was 52. Warne was named as one of the five cricketers of the century by Wisden as he claimed the most Test wickets — 708 — by an Australian in his 15-year career which spanned from 1992 to 2007. According to foxsports.com.au, his management released a brief statement in the early hours of Saturday (AEDT), that he passed away in Koh Samui, Thailand, of a suspected heart attack.
“Shane was found unresponsive in his villa and despite the best efforts of medical staff, he could not be revived,” the statement said.
“The family requests privacy at this time and will provide further details in due course.”
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His passing away comes as a major shock for cricket fans all over the world as they were mourning the loss of Australia wicket-keeper Rod Marsh who passed away last week due to a heart attack in Queensland.
Warne was the second-highest wicket-taker in the longest format of the game only behind Sri Lanka great Muttiah Muralitharan.
Warne has remained synonymous with leg-spin bowling since the early 90s. He earned his first baggy green for his Test debut against India in Sydney, January 1992 and made his maiden appearance in the One-Day Internationals (ODIs) against New Zealand in Wellington, March 1993.
The Ferntree Gully-native established himself as an integral part of Australia’s dominance over the other cricketing nations with his unique craft which deceived batters of any stature. He was a lethal weapon for the Australian who could add life to a dead rubber.
‘Warnie’ recorded the most Test wickets — 96 — in a calendar year in 2005 after playing 15 matches. He was also the second-fastest to 700 wickets in the longest format of the game (144 matches) behind Muralitharan (113) besides being the second-highest wicket-taker across formats (1001) behind the Sri Lankan (1347).
He is also third in the list of most player of the match awards (17) in the longest format of the game and recorded 10 ten-wicket hauls in Test matches which makes him the second-most successful bowler on the list.
The tailender was also a part of some interesting batting statistics, which includes most runs (3154) without a century, besides recording fifth-most ducks (34) in his career.
His legacy continued after retirement as he played the major roles of the captain and coach for Rajasthan Royals in the maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) triumph in the inaugural season.
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