Cummins, Maxwell pay tribute to late Spin-Wizard

The Australian Test skipper Pat Cummins and the batting all-rounder Glenn Maxwell have paid tribute to legendary Shane Warne, 52, who passed away due to a suspected heart attack on Friday (4 March 2022).

Cummins, who is on a historic tour to Pakistan, shared an anecdote about how he and many of his team members used to watch the great Shane Warne when they were kids and how he inspired the younger generation of players to take up leg-spin.

"Warnie was an all-time great, a once in a century type cricketer, and his records will live on forever. We all grew up watching Warnie, idolising him, we all had posters on his wall, had his earring," citied Cummins.

"What we loved so much about Warnie was his showmanship, his charisma, his tactics, the way he willed himself and the team around him to win games for Australia, and above all else his incredible skills as a leg-spinner. There are so many guys in this team and squad who still hold him as a hero, their all-time favourite player. The game was never the same after Warnie emerged and the game will never be the same after his passing. Rest in peace, King." the Test skipper added.

Meanwhile, Maxwell broke down during the interview as he mentioned the heavenly-abode played a pivotal role in the starting days of his journey.

"We've lost someone with immeasurable knowledge of the game, someone that's going to be dearly missed. Warnie actually got me to the Stars. Sorry... umm, yeah, we had a really good relationship. Just broken," Maxwell shared.

"I was actually lucky enough to play my second ever grade game against Warnie. I was about 16 or 17 and thought I was fortunate then. But to get to play with him at the Stars and post his career, become good friends off the field and sort of be a part of his inner sanctum... it's a hard morning."

Maxwell explained how Warne used to be his guide in the starting days of his career and he was exactly what a youngster would hope for.

"He was a pretty life-loving person. You'd be hard-pressed to find a more caring, loyal, generous person than him. He gave his time to pretty much every cricketer that came through. He saw every leg spinner that was playing international cricket, state cricket when he was commentating, he'd be out there helping them out. That was just the sort of person he was, he just gave his time so generously. He found a way to, he inspired multiple generations of players wanting to be Shane Warne. That’s the legacy he's going to leave," added Maxwell.

"He was (fun to be around). Even just to talk to him about normal stuff, he was just so knowledgeable and so caring and friendly. When myself and Finchy (Aaron Finch) started playing poker with him and going around to his house, being openly invited to just have these nice chats with him, we’d always make an effort to turn up early so we could talk about other stuff. He was just so giving with his time and more than happy to give back", a broken-down Maxwell said.

The spin-wizard, who was a great ambassador of the game and a pure showman, played 339 international matches over the span of 15 years where he snapped 708 Test and 293 ODI wickets respectively.

Warne was in his villa in Koh Samui, Thailand at the time of his death. The heavenly abode was visiting the Asian nation to shred some weight, as he cheekily mentioned in a tweet on February 28, 2022.