Legendary Australian cricket spinner Shane Warne has died of a suspected heart attack at the age of 52 at his villa in Thailand.
Australian cricket legend Shane Warne has died of a suspected heart attack at the age of just 52, his management has confirmed.
In a statement, Warne's management said, "It is with great sadness that we announce that Shane Keith Warne passed away today, Friday, March 4, in Koh Samui, Thailand, from a suspected heart attack.
"Shane was unresponsive at his villa and could not be revived despite the best efforts of medical staff. The family requests privacy at this time and will provide further details in due course.
He is survived by his three children, Brooke, Summer and Jackson.
Warne is the greatest leg-spinner of all time. He has taken 708 wickets in Test matches, a figure surpassed only by Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan.
He also took 293 wickets in One-Day Internationals and played more than 300 matches for Australia in all formats.
Warne helped Australia win the 1999 Cricket World Cup and has taken more wickets than any other bowler in Ashes cricket with 195.
Warne made his Test debut in 1993 in Sydney against India, although he had only played seven first-class matches at that stage.
It was an inauspicious start, with Warne scoring just one wicket and conceding 150 runs as the match ended in a draw.
With his first ball of the series, Warne threw a delivery to Mike Gatting that touched down outside leg stump and then hit the top of off stump, bringing down the England star.
This ball later became known as the "Ball of the Century" and catapulted Warne to superstardom.
He retired from international cricket in 2007 after Australia defeated England 5-0 in the 2006-07 Ashes series, but continued to play first-class and List A cricket in Hampshire County until the end of the season.
Although he retired from the longer formats, Warne found a new life in T20 franchise cricket and led the Rajasthan Royals to victory as player-coach in the first IPL season in 2008.
He retired from cricket for good in 2013. His last game was a Big Bash League match for Melbourne Stars against Perth Scorchers and he started working as a commentator and pundit.