Sport

Tributes pour in as legendary cricketer Shane Warne dies aged 52

Tributes pour in as legendary cricketer Shane Warne dies aged 52
Ukrainian footballer brought to tears as crowd cheer him on
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The sporting world is in utter shock, after the news that cricket icon Shane Warne has died at the age of 52.

The legendary Australian bowler suffered a suspected heart attack while in Thailand, his management confirmed.

A statement read: "Shane was found unresponsive in his villa and despite the best efforts of medical staff, he could not be revived.

"The family requests privacy at this time and will provide further details in due course."

Warne was one of the greatest cricketers of all time, with a total of 708 test match wickets. He is second in the list of the all-time top test wicket takers, with only Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan ahead of him.

He played 145 times for the Australian test side and 194 times for the one day side. In club cricket, he played for Vitoria, Hampshire, the Rajasthan Royals and the Melbourne Stars.

He was one of the biggest personalities the sport has ever seen, too, and moved into commentary after his retirement in 2013.

The bowler was one of the greatest entertainers to play the gameQuinn Rooney/Getty Images

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Former players and fans alike rushed to social media to pay tribute to one of the legends of the game.

Pakistan great Shoaib Akhtar wrote: “Just heard the devastating news about legendary Shane Warne passing away. No words to describe how shocked & sad i am.

“What a legend. What a man. What a cricketer.”

Gary Lineker was one of the high-profile fans to share a message too, writing: “Terribly saddened and shocked to hear the news that Shane Warne has died. The greatest spin bowler of all time. Can’t quite believe it. RIP Shane.”

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