Genius on the pitch, bad boy off it, Warne was one of a kind

Shane Warne thrilled and inspired in equal measure throughout his career but for all his wizardry with a cricket ball and charisma, like others touched by sporting genius he brought a fair amount of baggage to his chosen profession.

The Australian showman's death from a suspected heart attack https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/australian-warne-dies-suspected-heart-attack-report-2022-03-04 at the age of 52 on Friday left the sports world numb with shock.

Leg spinner Warne, who took 708 wickets in 145 tests during a glittering career and who almost single-handedly made the game 'cool' for a new generation of fans, was pure box office.

Admired by his team mates and adored by fans - the peroxide blond Warne's 'rock star' lifestyle often landed him in hot water with cricket's notoriously stuffy top brass.

During his pomp Warne's ability to rip a wickedly spinning cricket ball into a batsman's stumps made him a regular on the back pages of newspapers, but a string of lurid controversies also kept the gossip columnists busy.

In 2000 Warne was stripped of the Australian vice-captaincy after sending erotic text messages to a British nurse while married to his wife Simone Callahan.

After more scandals and a marital split he began dating British actress and model Elizabeth Hurley, the couple getting engaged in 2011 before breaking it off.

In 1998 Warne, and team mate Mark Waugh, admitted that they had accepted money from an Indian bookmaker during a tour of Sri Lanka in 1994, both players were hit with fines.

Five years later Warne was sent home in disgrace on the eve of the 2003 World Cup after testing positive for a banned substance - a diuretic Warne said his mother had given him to improve his appearance.

He was banned for a year