Tributes pour in as the legendary Shane Warne bids adieu at 52

Former Australian cricketer Shane Warne stumped one and all for one last time with his mastery as the legendary leg-spinner bid adieu to the world at the age of 52 on Friday, 5 March 2022.

One of the greatest to have ever played this beautiful sport, Warne's tragic demise was confirmed by his management company, which stated that the Victorian passed away due to cardiac arrest.

"Shane was found unresponsive in his villa and despite the best efforts of medical staff, he could not be revived. The family requests privacy at this time and will provide further details in due course.” the statement read.

According to the statement, Warne's close friend and his associate, Andrew Nephitoue tried to revive him but was unsuccessful.

The legendary cricketer, according to his manager James Erskine, had moved to Thailand earlier this month following a gruelling schedule with his commentary duties during the Australian summer.

"Shane was having three months off and this was the start of it,” he told Fox Cricket.

"They had only arrived the night before. They were going to go out for a drink at 5 o’clock, and (Neophitou) knocked on his door at 5.15pm because Warnie was always on time and said “come on you’re going to be late” and then realised something was wrong.”

An icon in its truest sense, Warne was a showman, who made everyone gobsmacked with the obvious mastery of his craft but also his flamboyance and never-say-die attitude.

In many ways, Warne was a diamond in the crown of the all-day conquering Australia teams of the 90s and 2000s, a true genius, a predator who thrived on setting up the batsmen before knocking them over, leaving them completely flummoxed and the onlookers in awe.

Warne was the first bowler to claim 700 Test wickets and he finished his decorated career in January 2007 after having scalped 1001 wickets across formats.

In expected terms, tributes have poured in for the ultimate showman, a flawed genius, from a shattered cricket ecosystem.