13 hours before Shane Warne breathed his last, the legendary Aussie spinner had comforted the death of another Aussie legend, Rod Marsh. The cricket fraternity has been hit hard by the deaths of two legendary sporting heroes, Warne and Marsh, in less than 24 hours.
While Rod Marsh suffered a heart attack in Queensland last week and was in an induced coma at the Royal Adelaide Hospital until his death, Warne died on Friday, March 4 due to a suspected heart attack at a villa in Thailand. His family said in a statement that doctors tried unsuccessfully to revive him at the villa.
Warne was saddened by the death of Rod Marsh, who played 96 Tests for his country, scored three Test centuries and famously claimed a then-world record 355 layoffs for a wicketkeeper behind the stumps.
“Sad to hear the news that Rod Marsh has passed away. He was a legend of our great game and an inspiration to so many young boys and girls. Rod cared deeply about cricket and gave so much – especially to players from Australia and England .Send lots & lots of love to Ros & family.RIP mate,” Warne wrote on his social media post.
Sad to hear the news that Rod Marsh passed away. He was a legend of our great game and an inspiration to so many young boys and girls. Rod cared deeply about cricket and gave so much – especially to Australian and English players. Sending lots and lots of love to Ros and family. RIP buddy
— Shane Warne (@ShaneWarne) March 4, 2022
Warne even posted from his villa on Thursday night as he appeared to be enjoying the moonlight views from his stay in Thailand.
Notably, Warne had been hospitalized after suffering from Covid-19 last year. In his most recent Instagram post, Warne said he has made it his goal to get fit and set July 2022 as the deadline, saying “Operation Shred” has begun.
“Operation Shred has started (10 days later) and the goal is to be back to that form of a few years ago by July! Let’s go”, he said 4 days ago.
One of the greatest cricketers of all time, Shane Warne won 708 wickets in 145 Tests. His career spanned 15 years from 1992 to 2007. He also became world champion in 1999 with Australia.
Warne is considered one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the sport, having been a staple of Australia’s dominant teams in the 1990s and early 2000s.
