By Sarah McPhee and Megan Levy
Shane Warne’s three children are in “complete shock” following the sudden death of their father from a suspected heart attack in Thailand, the cricket legend’s long-time manager said.
James Erskine said he had spoken to Warne’s ex-wife Simone, who was “really upset”, while Warne’s three children - Jackson, Brooke and Summer - were still trying to come to terms with the tragedy.
Shane Warne, pictured with his children Jackson (left) and Brooke.Credit: Instagram/Supplied
Warne was in Koh Samui, Thailand, on the second day of a holiday when he didn’t show up to drinks at 5pm on Friday. Warne’s friend Andrew Neophitou performed CPR on the former player for 20 minutes before paramedics arrived, but Warne could not be saved.
“Jackson just said, ‘we just expect him to walk in the door, this is like a bad dream’,” Erskine told Weekend Today on Sunday. “I think the three children are in complete shock. They can’t believe what’s happened. I think that’s what happens when you have a sudden death.
Shane Warne with his children on Father’s Day in 2019.Credit: Instagram
“One minute, the kids are talking to him every day and the next minute, they can’t talk to him. Then they start thinking about, well, ‘he’s not going to be there for my 21st [birthday], he’s not going to take me down the aisle’, all of those sorts of things go through your head.
“They are having a much harder time than anybody, really.”
Erskine said he would remember the 52-year-old for his honesty. Warne was the sort of person who could talk to both the Queen and the “dustbin man” and was also great with children, Erskine said.
“I think, at the end of the day, he was a larrikin, there’s no doubt about it,” he said.
“He got himself in a few messes, I helped him get out of a few. But I think it was just his honesty about it.”
Fans gather at his monument
Outside the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday afternoon, cricket fan Jason Clarke broke down in tears as he laid flowers below the statue of Warne.
Mr Clarke and his wife Andrea, 51, travelled to the ’G to pay their respects to the legendary leg-spin bowler.
“I just knew I had to go there,” said Mr Clarke. “He’s an absolute idol of mine.”
Mr Clarke, 44, of Tarneit, in Melbourne’s west, said he was devastated to hear the news of Warne’s death.
Jason Clarke pays his respects at Shane Warne’s statue at the MCG on Sunday.Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui
“No one is ever going to beat him,” Mr Clarke said. “If you were in a losing position, he could turn a game on a dime, on all decks — hard, soft, whether in India, Pakistan, or Australia — he could just turn the ball, and his accuracy was sensational. He was absolutely brilliant.”
Dozens of others gathered on Sunday at the base of the statue outside Warne’s home-town stadium, some laying flowers, others putting stubbies of VB beer on the plinth.
‘RIP my beloved Lionheart’: Liz Hurley
Liz Hurley, Warne’s former fiancee, posted photos of the pair on Instagram, saying: “I feel like the sun has gone behind a cloud forever. RIP my beloved Lionheart.”
The British model and actor began dating Warne at the end of 2010. The pair became engaged in October 2011, but split up two years later.
“The Warne impulse was in action,” Warne wrote in his book, when recalling his impromptu proposal to Hurley on James Packer’s super yacht. “I didn’t have a ring, nothing, but the moment was right.”
Warne later credited Hurley for helping him to get back into shape and for making the transition to a healthier lifestyle.
The relationship with Hurley provided the catalyst for the bowler’s final split from Simone in December 2010, after pictures of him kissing Hurley were published. His marriage had already gone through a number of tumultuous years.
Warne devoted a whole chapter of his book to his time with Hurley: “I can honestly say that the time I had with Elizabeth were the happiest years of my life,” he wrote.
The pair announced their split in December 2013, saying work commitments had kept them apart.
Hurley’s son Damian paid tribute to Warne on Instagram, describing the cricketer as “a father figure”.
″I’m still trying to wrap my head around this ...SW was a father figure to me for most of my formative years and was truly one of the best men I’ve ever known. My heart is broken. ”
Charisma ‘radiated’ out of Warne: Szubanski
Actor Magda Szubanski reflected on her friendship with the cricketer, who once appeared alongside her in an episode of Kath and Kim.
In the television show, Szubanski’s character, Sharon Strzelecki, was obsessed with Warne, and Warne himself agreed to appear on the show as Warne impersonator Wayne.
“I think it’s very hard to digest something like that. Someone who is so very alive, [has] got that incredible life force, when it is just snuffed out so suddenly like that, I think we all, cognitively, can’t really comprehend it,” Szubanski told Nine’s Weekend Today on Sunday.
Reflecting on Warne’s cameo, Szubanski said she hadn’t met the spin king before, but was “so struck” by a man who was sweet, gentle and thoughtful.
“I went, ‘Oh wow, I get it. I get that charm,’” she said.
“Charisma is something you can’t manufacture, it’s just who you are as a person and that radiated out of him. And [he was] a lot smarter than people would’ve thought he was too. I was completely won over, bowled over by Shane.”
The actor joked: “I did receive some late night texts from Shane Warne. We never claimed that we were like close besties or anything, but we did have an ongoing connection, and I was just very, very fond of him.”
She said Warne’s legacy would be “for being a genius”, adding that his family were in her thoughts as they navigate this “impossibly hard time”.
With Carolyn Webb
News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.