RIP Shane Warne: A tribute to the spin wizard

Heartbreaking news comes in as former Australian legend Shane Keith Warne passed away on Friday evening due to a suspected heart attack. 

The loss of the world's great leg spinner came as a huge shock to the entire cricketing fraternity as it was only a few hours back he took it to Twitter to pay his final respect to his fellow countrymen Rod Marsh, who passed away the same morning.

One of the darkest days for the sport as we lost two of the biggest names in Cricket and there is no doubt that their names will be echoed around for the years to come in spite of their absence.

The exact reason for his demise is yet to be confirmed and as per the latest reports, it is studied that the 52-year old was staying with his friends in a villa in Thailand. 

He was given CPR by his friends and health workers after being found unresponsive in his villa, however, their efforts could not revive the greatest Aussie spinner.

“An emergency response unit then arrived and did another CPR for 10-20 minutes. Then an ambulance from the Thai International Hospital arrived and took him there. They did CPR for five minutes, and then he died,"- 

reported Warne's management.

There are no further details as of now as the family has requested privacy at this moment and it is definitely respected by the media as it stands. 

Cricket will miss the aggressive, smart, and spirited leg-spinner, who is the owner of various records in the longest format of the game. 

Sportco as a token of a tribute to the greatest leggie, today, brings you a collection of his records and achievements in the sport.

Let us take a look at his incredible stats in the game

# Warne is the second-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket with 708 wickets to his name and he is also the second-fastest to achieve the milestone. 

# The 52-year old still holds the record for the highest wicket-taker for Australia with 1001 wickets in 339 matches. 

# The right-hander was also a handy player with the bat at the lower-order and often scored the valuable runs at the back end for his side. With 3154 runs at a decent average of 17.32, he holds a unique record for the most Test runs scored by a player without scoring a ton.

# In 2005, he was mighty close to becoming the first player in the history of the game to pick 100 wickets in a calendar year but unfortunately ended up four short of the magical figure. However, he still holds the record for the most wickets picked by a bowler in a Calendar year.

# He is only one of the two bowlers in the sport to pick 10 wicket-hauls in a Test match on 10 or more occasions and has the second-most number of 5- wicket hauls in the format (37).

Timeline of his career

1992

Warne made his Test debut against India at the SCG

1993

Made his ODI debut against New Zealand at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. 

1994

Claimed his first 10 wicket haul in Test cricket (vs South Africa, 7/56 and 5/72) and also picked his first hat-trick (vs England)

1995

Shane Warne picked up 15 wickets in the four-match series against West Indies to help Australia register their series win against the Windies in over 20 years.

1996

He was an integral part of Australia's world cup squad where he picked up 12 wickets which included a Man of the match performance against West Indies, picking up 4/36.

1998

He became just the second Aussie after Dennis Lillee to pick up 300 Test wickets. The same year in the series against India, he became the highest wicket-taker in Tests, overtaking Lance Gibbs' tally of 309.

1999

Warne was appointed as the Vice-captain of the side after Mark Taylor announced his retirement from the game.

2000

Shane Warne was selected as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century; he was the only specialist bowler to be selected in the elite list. The same year he went on to overtake Dennis Lille's tally of 355 to become Australia's leading wicket-taker. 

2001

Warne took his 400th Test wicket by dismissing Alex Stewart to become only the 6th player then to achieve the milestone and the first Australian to do so. The same year saw him register his highest score of 99 runs, falling one short of his maiden Test century.

2002

He was awarded the Man of the Series award in the series against Pakistan after picking up 27 wickets in the 3-match Test series. 

2003

A day before the commencement of the 2003 World Cup, he was sent home after a drug test returned positive, he claimed not guilty, however, the Australian Cricket board found him guilty and handed him a one-year ban from the sport.

2004

He made a stunning comeback to the side by becoming just the second cricketer after Courtney Walsh to pick up 500 Test wickets. In the October of the same year, he became the highest wicket-taker overtaking Muralitharan's tally of 533 wickets.

2005

The leggie became the first-ever player to take 600 Test wickets and the same year saw him register the most wickets for a bowler in a calendar year, picking up 96 wickets in the 15 matches played. 

2006

Warne announced his retirement from the sport to take effect at the conclusion of the Ashes that year. In the 4th Test of the series, he became the first player to pick 700 wickets and he was applauded by the entire cricketing world for his incredible feat.

The series stood notable as it was the last for many Australian legends, namely, Shane Warne, Justin Langer, Damien Martyn, and legendary pacer Glenn McGrath. 

2008

He guided the Rajasthan Royals to a title win in the inaugural Indian Premier League season. 

A person that departs from this earth never truly leaves, for they are still alive in our hearts and minds, through us, they live on. The legacy he has left behind will stay on for the years to come, the memories and the moments left behind will stay in our hearts. 

Rest in peace, Shane Warne.