SHANE Warne’s final moments have been revealed after the cricket legend died from a suspected heart attack on holiday in Thailand.
The Aussie sporting hero, 52, was found unresponsive in his room by pal Andrew Neophitou at the luxury villa they were staying in yesterday.
Shane Warne was found by a friend ‘with no heartbeat’
Friend Andrew Neophitou, left, arrives at a police station on Koh Samui
Thai police have now confirmed they have ruled out any suspicious circumstances following Warne’s death.
Superintendent Yuttana Sirisombat said Warne had experienced chest pains before his death and “had seen a doctor about his heart”.
It comes as…
- Piers Morgan has led tributes to Shane Warne, describing him as “unique, ferocious, mischievous”
- Gary Lineker branded Warne as the “greatest spin bowler of all time” following the shock news
- In his haunting final tweet, Warne paid tribute to fellow cricketing legend Rod Marsh, who also died of a heart attack
- He was found unresponsive by pals who desperately battled to save him on a holiday to Thailand
- Warne shared a tragic final Instagram post from the luxury villa
Warne’s manager James Erskine today shed light on the sportsman’s final moments in Fox Sport special, Remembering Shane Warne.
He said the group were due to go for drinks at 5pm when Andrew knocked on his door and realised “something was wrong”.
James added: “He went in there and said ‘come on, you’re going to be late’ and then realised something was wrong.
“And he turned him over and gave him CPR and mouth to mouth, which lasted about 20 minutes and then the ambulance came.
“They took him to the hospital, which was about a 20-minute drive and I got a phone call about 45 minutes later saying he was pronounced dead.”
Warne had spent the day watching Australia’s Test cricketers take on Pakistan from bedroom before the tragedy unfolded.
He had arrived in the country on Thursday with friends for a lad’s holiday.
Follow our Shane Warne blog for live updates on his death
James explained Warne, who “hadn’t been drinking”, was “having a lie down” when he was discovered with no heartbeat.
He added: “He doesn’t drink, never took drugs, ever. He hated drugs so nothing untoward.
“He was going to do the things he likes doing. He was going to play in one or two poker competitions, play a lot of golf, be with his kids, that was about it; [to] have time to himself.”
His comments came after Australian officials arrived in Koh Samui to begin the process of repatriating the cricketer’s body back to Melbourne.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirmed Warne’s family have been offered a state funeral.
Thai police said today: “No foul play was suspected at the scene based on our investigation.”
‘SHATTERED’
Warne’s mum Bridgette has now spoken out following the Aussie bowler’s tragic death.
She told The Herald Sun: “We’re just in shock. We’re OK”.
Warne’s dad Keith is yet to comment but said he would release a tribute at a later date.
James also revealed Warne’s children Brooke, Summer and Jackson have been left “shattered” by their father’s death.
His management team released a brief statement yesterday confirming the cricket ace had passed away.
It came just hours after Warne shared a final Instagram post of the pool at the Thailand villa.
He had also tweeted his “sadness” at the death of cricket legend Rod Marsh who suffered a heart attack aged 74.
He said: “Sad to hear the news that Rod Marsh has passed. He was a legend of our great game & an inspiration to so many young boys & girls.
“Rod cared deeply about cricket & gave so much especially to Australia & England players.
“Sending lots & lots of love to Ros & the family. RIP mate.”
CRICKET LEGEND
Shane captained the Australia national team in One Day Internationals and was widely considered one of the greatest bowlers in cricket history.
As well as playing internationally, he played domestic cricket for his home state of Victoria and English domestic cricket for Hampshire.
The star was captain of Hampshire for 3 seasons from 2005 to 2007 and played his first test match in 1992 and took over 1,000 international wickets.
Perhaps the most-viewed cricket clip of all time, the icon’s Ball of the Century at Old Trafford in 1993 was the start of the leg-spinner’s legend.
His very first delivery in Ashes cricket swerved in the air, landed outside Mike Gatting’s leg stump and turned so savagely that it clipped the top of off stump.
Australia won the match and clinched the Ashes. Gatting’s bemused look as he trudged off was a picture.
On December 21, 2006, Warned announced his retirement following the fifth Ashes Test match at the SCG.
He said it was his intention to “go out on top” and added that he might have retired after the 2005 Ashes series if Australia had won.
BAD BOY OF CRICKET
Warne was also known for his antics off the cricket field and later was branded the bad boy of the sport.
His wife Simone Callahan broke up with him in 2005 after years of cheating allegations.
The final straw came when fresh claims surfaced about Warne pursuing three other women after Simone arrived in England just as the Ashes series was about to begin.
She headed back to Australia with their three children, Brooke, 24, Jackson, 22, and Summer, 20.
In a new documentary released just two months ago titled simply Shane, he admitted: “I think that was the lowest.
“The impact on my children, they wouldn’t get to see me and that was my fault.
“I would go back and raid the minibar. I was on my own on the hotel room floor, crying ‘you d***head’.”
He later dated Hurley and moved into her Brighton mansion, with the couple announcing their engagement in 2011.
After they split in 2013 – Shane said he had to “live with” what he did to his family “for the rest of my life”.
In 2016, he was said to be seeing American student Kathryn Long.
Most recently, he was reportedly dating Australian model Emily Sears.
He started dating the 37-year-old in March 2017 and confirmed the relationship in June of that year.
They were first seen in a Los Angeles restaurant where they shared a three-hour meal.
‘GREATEST OF ALL TIME’
Tributes have poured in for the cricketing legend after the heartbreaking news was announced yesterday.
Piers Morgan branded his close pal “unique, ferocious, mischievous” in his column for SE.
He added: “I’m absolutely gutted he’s gone so soon and will miss him enormously.
“But I enjoyed every second of my hundreds of hours in his exhilarating, unpredictable and always entertaining company, and of how many people in life can you say that?”
Gary Lineker tweeted: “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.”
England cricketing hero Monty Panesar told TalkRadio: “This is absolutely devastating, I’m sure the cricketing community will be completely shocked.”
He said Warne was one of the “legends of the game” – “on and off the field, what he did for cricket was unbelievable.”
Monty went on: “It’s absolutely shocking. I can’t believe I’m even sort of talking to you about this.”
The cricketer had been on holiday with friends when the horror unfolded
He was having a lie down in the villa when a pal discovered him unresponsive
Police have now ruled out foul play
His mum has spoken of her pain at Warne’s death
Tributes left for Warne in his native Australia
