Shocked Australia mourns cricketing great ‘Warnie’

Australians laid tributes of flowers and beer bottles at a statue of Shane Warne in Melbourne on Saturday, after the country woke to the shocking news the cricketing great had died from a suspected heart attack while on holiday in Thailand.

As many in the sporting world and beyond expressed grief, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison offered Warne’s family a state funeral for the sportsman known to his compatriots simply as “Warnie”.

One of the finest bowlers of all time whose talent and personality transcended cricket, Warne died at the age of 52 on Friday, shortly after arriving in Koh Samui for a vacation.

Thai Police on Saturday said they were not treating his death as suspicious and Warne’s body would be transferred to the mainland for a full autopsy to determine the cause of death.

“Shane was one of our greatest cricketers of all time ... but Shane was more than this to Australians. Shane was one of our nation’s greatest characters,” Morrison said in a statement.

Warne’s death dominated local media on Saturday, pushing news of devastating floods on the east coast of Australia and the war in Ukraine off the top of news bulletins and websites.

On social media, tributes from fellow players were joined by celebrity fans such as rock stars Mick Jagger, Elton John and Ed Sheeran.

Martin Pakula, sports minister of Warne’s home state Victoria, said the Great Southern Stand at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), where the spinner took his 700th wicket on Boxing Day 2006, would be renamed the SK Warne Stand. The new moniker references the cricketer’s first and middle name, Keith.

A sombre stream of people laid flowers, cricket balls and beer bottles at the foot of the statue showing Warne in full flight as a bowler.

“I came to pay my respects for a guy who just loved sport, who loved all sports, football, cricket,” said professional Australian rules football player Tom Mitchell, 28, as he left a football.

David Latta, 64, a local resident who attended many of Warne’s matches at the MCG said “everybody wanted to be this guy. Everybody.”