Shocked Australia mourns cricketing great 'Warnie'

Australians laid tributes of flowers 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 and cricket balls 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.”

Thai Police said one of three friends staying with Warne in a private villa went to check on the former cricketer when he did not turn up for dinner on Friday. Finding Warne unconscious, the friend performed CPR, which was again attempted by paramedics and medical staff at the Thai International Hospital.

Thai national police spokesperson Kissana Phathanacharoen said Warne’s body would be transferred to Surat Thani, about 80 km away, for an autopsy. He gave no timeframe for when that would happen.

“The case is still under investigation, and will need a detailed autopsy result to prove the real cause of death,” Kissana said.

With the villa under heavy security on Saturday, police also planned to speak with Warne’s travelling companions.

“We won’t be filing any charges and they haven’t done anything wrong,” Chatchawin Nakmusik, a Bo Phut police officer, told Reuters. “We’ll only ask what about happened because they were together with him at the time.”

Chatchawin said police were waiting to hear from Warne’s relatives concerning the repatriation of his body.

Australia’s Foreign Minister Marise Payne said earlier that officials would travel to Koh Samui on Saturday to offer assistance to Thai authorities and help arrange the return of his body.

Warne’s last Tweet was a tribute to another former Australian cricket great, wicketkeeper Rod Marsh, who died earlier on Friday at the age of 74.

Australia’s men’s and women’s teams wore black armbands in Warne’s honour when they played matches in Pakistan and New Zealand respectively on Saturday.

Credited with reviving the art of leg spin, Warne made his Test debut in 1992 against India, kicking off a 15-year international career.

Warne was rated as one of the five greatest players of the 20th century by Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack but his hard living often made tabloid headlines as well.

The wily spinner frequently courted controversy and served a 12-month suspension after testing positive for banned diuretics in 2003.

“Of course he was controversial, but also put cricket on the map for a lot of people,” Sydney resident Eddie Piazza told Reuters.

“So he did a couple of crazy things, but what a legend and we should remember him for the good things.”