Shane Warne, the man who made it cool to be a leg-spinner

There have been many great cricketers in the sport's long history but few have changed the game quite like Australia's Shane Warne did during his brilliant career.

Warne, whose death at the age of just 52 from a suspected heart attack in Thailand on Friday sent shockwaves through the game, single-handedly revived the art of leg-spin bowling, a skill that had all but disappeared from Test cricket following the end of Abdul Qadir's career with Pakistan.

"The game was never the same after Warnie emerged, and the game will never be the same after his passing," said current Australia captain Pat Cummins, leading the team in the ongoing first Test of their tour of Pakistan.

But Warne's return of one wicket for 150 runs on Test debut against India at Sydney in 1992, during an innings where opener Ravi Shastri made a double century and future batting great Sachin Tendulkar 148, was no-one's idea of a dream start.

Yet there were a couple of clues even then that he was no ordinary bowler.

For one thing he bowled 45 overs, a hefty burden even for a spinner not under as much physical strain as a fast bowler, albeit he defied convention by walking to the crease.

That debut return meant Warne had conceded slightly more than three runs per over an average, with one of the hallmark of a career that saw him become the first man to take 700 Test wickets being an astounding ability to generate sharp spin with a degree of miserly control widely thought to be beyond the realm of any leg-spinner.

And then there was the way he played the game.

With his dyed blonde hair, stud ear-ring and willingness to 'sledge' or verbally abuse opposition batsmen, he had the look and attitude of an aggressive quick, with fast bowling then the dominant force among