On March 4, 2022, world cricket lost a legend in Shane Warne. The former Australian leg-spinner died at the age of 52 due to natural causes on the Thai holiday island of Koh Samui. Warne remains the second highest wicket taker in the history of Test cricket, behind Muttiah Muralitharan, with 708 scalps to his name. Warne played 194 One Day Internationals for Australia in which he scalped 293 wickets. The right-hander was also handy with the bat as he scored 3,154 runs in his Test career. He amassed 1,018 runs in the 50-overs format. The leg-spinner took a total of 1001 international wickets and was the first-ever bowler to scale the peak of 1,000 international wickets.
Warne was given a moving tribute by the England and New Zealand cricketers on Day 1 of the first Test between the two teams at Lord's on Thursday. After 23 overs of play in the first session, the match paused for 23 seconds of applause in memory of Warne, who always wore the jersey number of 23.
Watch: England, NZ players play tribute to Shane Warne
Warne, who made his Test debut against India at the iconic Sydney Cricket Ground, was named as one of Wisden's Five Cricketers of the Century for his unparalleled achievements in a 15-year career between 1992 and 2007. In 2013, he was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame.
He helped Australia win the World Cup in 1999 and took more wickets than any other bowler in Ashes cricket, the tally standing at 195.
After retiring from international cricket, Warne added to his legend by doubling up as captain and coach of IPL team Rajasthan Royals' remarkable title triumph in the event's inaugural edition.
A flamboyant personality both on and off the field, Warne also found success as a commentator and was considered among the sharpest analysts of the game.