UKC

Shocked to hear this just now. Amazing player and great bloke. Sad. 

Bloody hell, I was thinking earlier when I heard that Rod Marsh had died, 74 is no age to die. Warne was 52.

His personal life was interesting at times, but as a cricketer, in very, very, very select company.

youtube.com/watch?v=s3V-sYH0Sks&

Massive shock, he was only a few years older than me 

Very sad indeed. He wore his heart on his sleeve and played with a genuine love of the game. His performance in the 2005 Ashes series was perhaps the best I've ever seen, especially considering the standard of cricket and that he somehow ended up on the losing team. I don't think there will ever be a better leg spinner. 

They don’t get any better than that - brilliant. 

I was lucky enough to be at the match - Gatting  looked very bemused! 

Very sad.  The fear every time he took the ball.....

Yep absolutely shocking news, only 52! A real class act.

10 pints and chicken & chips every night and still top 2 best bowlers of all time. Legend!

Unfortunately, it's probably what did him in the end.

I recall him dropping a dolly catch off Kevin Pietersen in 2005, when he was in single figures and who went on to score 169  and England won the match and Test series.  A great competitor, a great cricketer, and a great character. And that ball to Gatting, who just stood there gobsmacked. He couldn't believe that a ball would spin that distance.

RIP Shane.

I thought this must be a mistake when I heard it, I read his tweet about Rodney Marsh passing only this morning.

We didn't win that Test, it was The Oval and it was a draw. They had to win to draw the series and therfore retain the Ashes. Bad light stopped play and the Aussies came out on their balcony in shades, very funny.

But he is an absolute legend (although possibly a doper). RIP

I was at Old Trafford that day as well. Great day. Gatting still doesn't know what happened.

Interesting fact. He was the highest test run scorer who never scored a century. (Top score 99, average 17)

Had the privilege to be at his final test in Sydney on the day he bowled his last ball for Australia.  I've got a treasured photo of him doffing his cap to us.  Way too young. 

"Bowling Shane!"

From the DM

For context, it's younger than the life expectancy in 1940's England, which was 66. From a quick google, in the early 1900's people seemed to die in their early 40's. 52 is no age at all. Even my Dad born just after WW2 is in his late 70's, somebody Shane Warne's age should be been continuing on into his 80's and beyond, theoretically.

Rodney Marsh and Shane Warne.  Everything you admire in Aussie cricketing ethos.

Among all this sad news, the following paragraph from yesterday's obituary to Rod Marsh in The Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/mar/04/rodney-marsh-australian-crick...) gave me a laugh:

"Marsh, who has died aged 74, was the perfect tough sidekick for Lillee, with whom he shared a scowling, moustachioed Aussie pugnaciousness and a ferocious will to win. While Lillee stood menacingly with the ball at the end of his run, incoming batsmen could expect to be met with a pithy comment or two from Marsh about the future likelihood of their need for emergency dental work or a prolonged spell sampling hospital food."

Yeah, shocking news indeed. 52 is no age to pass away. The bloke was sensational with the ball in his hand. Possibly the greatest spin bowler of all time, despite the fact that Muralitharan took more test wickets.  A true legend of the game. RIP Shane. 

Quick reminder on how life expectancy works: people weren't all dropping dead in their 40s in the 1900s, people weren't all dropping dead in their 60s in the 1940s. People have been living into 70s, 80s and beyond for ages. Rather, a decrease in child mortality brings the average lifespan up.