Inside Shane Warne’s wild life – from iconic ‘ball of the century’ to Liz Hurley romance and drinking 10 pints a night
HE was the no-nonsense bowler with an arm like lightning on the field and an equally explosive personal life off it.
Today, Australian cricketer Shane Warne died from a suspected heart attack on the tropical island Koh Samui, Thailand, at the age of 52.
Fox Sports, who he commentated for, reported that he was “found unresponsive in his villa” and “despite the best efforts of medical staff, he could not be revived”.
Tributes have poured in to mark the legend’s passing including from Gary Lineker, who said he couldn’t “quite believe it”.
The Match Of The Day star added: “Terribly saddened and shocked to hear the news that Shane Warne has died. The greatest spin bowler of all time.”
Sun columnist Piers Morgan tweeted: “He was a genius cricketer, a supreme entertainer, a fantastic bloke and a great loyal friend for many years.”
Widely considered one of the greatest cricketers of all time, Shane’s iconic ‘Ball of the Century’ at Old Trafford in 1993 is to this day the sport’s most-watched clip in history.
Nonetheless, with a history of partying, boozing and womanising - which culminated in an infamous romance with actress Liz Hurley and the end of his 10-year-marriage - the legendary sportsman became just as famous for his antics away from the field.
Here we remember his colourful and controversial life.
🔵 Follow our Shane Warne blog for live updates on his death
"I didn't introduce her to my children until it was real and I believed it had a future – it wasn't just a bit of fun,” Shane added.
Reflecting on their romance, he claimed to have been "more in love... than I'd realised I could be".
"I miss the love we had. My years with Elizabeth were the happiest of my life," he told The Mirror.
In 2014, after his split from Hurley, he was pictured kissing DJ and model Emily Scott, but broke up the same year due to being in "different places".
Shane was also reported to be dating model Emily Sears.
He then went on two dates with Kim McGrath, who he met on Tinder and later fumed at for spilling bedroom secrets.
Shane was set up on a date with his crush Carmen Electra by Kyle and Jackie O in 2016 - it's not clear if they ever met.
10 pints and chicken & chips each night
Shane earned an army of fans for his cheeky antics - including when he was sent home from a cricket academy for dropping his trousers in 1990 and branded “a liability”.
"I was the renegade," he said. "I mooned at some people on the balcony in Darwin."
The cricketer also battled yo-yoing weight and was his largest in 1991, when he gorged on “10 pints and chicken and chips” every night.
Shane managed to turn it around and was proud of the fact that he could still eat pizzas, pies and “spaghetti hoops for breakfast” but “in moderation”.
This guy doesn’t give a f*** but is somebody who gives a f*** more than anyone else
Chris Martin, of Coldplay
Over his lifetime, he developed an unhealthy smoking habit of up to 50 cigarettes a day.
At one point he was paid £200,000 by Nicorette, an aid to quit smoking, but was later snapped puffing a cigarette.
In 2003, he was banned from cricket taking a banned substance, which he claimed was a diet pill.
He explained: “I’m so anti-drugs. I never took drugs.”
Four days before Shane's death, he shared a tweet revealing that he had just started a 10 day "Operation shred" to get back into shape.
He shared a photo of himself with a chisseled torso and wrote: "The goal by July is to get back to this shape from a few years ago! Let's go."
Reflecting on his health last year, he said: "I liked loud music, I smoked, I drank, and I bowled a bit of leg spin. I don't have any regrets."
Kids became 'number one priority'
Away from his love life, the star felt he wasn't the best father to the kids he had with Simone - Brooke, 24, Summer, 20, and Jackson, 22 - because he was always away with work.
But after splitting with his wife, he became far more hands on while they enjoyed joint custody.
"I always made their lunches, walked them to school, took them to sport, etc," he told the Herald Sun last year.
Shane admitted it was "never easy" being a single parent but he grew up and started to make his kids his "number one priority at all times".
In January, a source told Women's Day that he had hopes of becoming a grandparent in the future too.
"He can now focus on family first," they said. "He's got a real soft side and is a big teddy bear, so as a doting grandad he'll get the chance to get even closer to his own amazing kids, who are all busy making their place in the world."
‘Cricket is a simple game’
Despite the difficulties that dogged Shane’s career, it seemed he never let it impact his performance.
This came even during the 2005 Ashes when England won and the fans brutally sang “Where’s your missus gone?” for hours.
He said: “The only way I got over everything was because I was tough upstairs. I blocked everything out.”
Shane’s talent was unquestionable and while his personal life was rocky at times, the cricketer was always refreshingly honest.
He said: “I don’t pretend to be the perfect person, I’ve got loads of faults.”
READ MORE SUN STORIES
It’s hard to quantify the blood, sweat and tears Shane poured into the game, but to him it never seemed that tricky.
He said: “To me, cricket is a simple game. Keep it simple and just go out and play.”