Warne's family 'shattered' by his death: Manager

MELBOURNE, Australia/SURAT THANI, Thailand, :Shane Warne's family has been "shattered" by the sudden death of the Australian cricket great, and his children are in "complete shock," his long-time manager, James Erskine, said on Sunday, as the player's body was taken for an autopsy.

One of the finest bowlers of all time whose talent and personality transcended cricket, Warne died of a suspected heart attack at the age of 52 on Friday, a day after arriving on Thailand's island of Koh Samui for a vacation.

"The three children are in a complete shock," Erskine told the Nine Network's Today morning show on Sunday. "I spoke to them yesterday and ... Jackson just said, 'We expect him to walk in the door. This is like a bad dream'."

Warne had Jackson, Summer and Brooke with Simone Callahan, to whom he was married for 10 years until they divorced in 2005.

Credited with reviving the art of leg spin, Warne made his test debut in 1992 against India, kicking off a 15-year international career.

Warne was rated as one of the five greatest players of the 20th century by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, but the wily spinner's hard living often made tabloid headlines as well.

Thai police said Warne experienced chest pains before his death and had asthma and some heart issues. They were not treating his death as suspicious.

"Keith, Shane's father, is a pretty strong individual, but like everybody, he's just shattered, they can't believe what's happened," Erskine said.

"RIDICULOUS" DIETING

On Sunday, Warne's body, flanked by the Australian ambassador and local police, arrived in the southern city of Surat Thani for an autopsy after a 90-minute ferry ride from Koh Samui.

The police said there were no indications that the cause of his death was not a heart