Friends' desperate attempts to save Shane Warne before shock death

Details have emerged from Thailand about how friends tried in vain to save Shane Warne, before the Aussie cricket legend tragically died at the age of 52.

The horrific news has sent shockwaves through the sporting world, with tributes flooding in across social media for Australia's greatest ever bowler.

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Warne died in a Thailand hotel on Friday while on holiday of a suspected heart attack, with his management confirming he was found unresponsive and unable to be revived.

Thai police have since revealed that a group of friends Warne was holidaying with at a villa on Koh Samui, tried to save his life.

The Aussie great was found unresponsive when the group reportedly tried to administer CPR before an ambulance arrived and he was rushed to hospital.

Warne was transported to the Thai International Hospital where he was pronounced dead a short time later.

Thai police have since told Reuters that Warne's body had been taken for an autopsy and friends who found him would be spoken with, but added there were no signs of foul play.

The cause of death is being reported as a suspected heart attack.

“Shane was found unresponsive in his villa and despite the best efforts of medical staff, he could not be revived,” a statement from the cricket great's management read.

“The family requests privacy at this time and will provide further details in due course.”

Warne had only days earlier posted on social media about his plans to get back to peak fitness, posting a shirtless photo from a few years back that showed his toned physique.

“Operation shred has started (10 days in) and the goal by July is to get back to this shape from a few years ago! Let’s go,” he captioned the post.

Warne's tragic passing came less than 24 hours after Australian cricket mourned the loss of another Test great, following the passing of Rod Marsh.

The legendary wicketkeeper suffered a heart attack in Bundaberg last week, and was later transferred to the Royal Adelaide Hospital on order to be closer to his family.

He had been placed in an induced coma, and was transferred interstate before news broke on Friday that he had died.

In a haunting twist, Warne paid tribute to Marsh on social media in what may have been the final message he sent before his own tragic death.

"Sad to hear the news that Rod Marsh has passed. He was a legend of our great game & an inspiration to so many young boys & girls. Rod cared deeply about cricket & gave so much-especially to Australia & England players. Sending lots & lots of love to Ros & the family. RIP mate," Warne tweeted alongside a love heart emoji.

Cricket world remembers one of the greatest ever

News of Warne's death has hit Australia and the wider sporting world hard, with Australia's current Test stars learning of the tragedy after the first day's play in their opening Test against Pakistan.

"Hard to fathom," a clearly emotional Australia captain Pat Cummins said.

"Warnie was an all-time great. A once-in-a-century type cricketer and his records will live on forever

"We all grew up watching Warnie, idolising him. We all had posters on our walls, had his earings.

"We loved so much about Warnie.

Legendary former England player and coach David Lloyd said as a cricketer Warne was the "best I’ve ever seen.”

“Shane was generous to a fault. He lived life to the full, he was Peter Pan, but when it came to cricket, he was serious," Lloyd said.

“He championed the game. He was serious about cricket but he wanted it to be fun. He wanted bowling to be fun, to smile at the opposition when they hit you for six.

“He had this God-given talent and he was so grateful for it that he always wanted to help other players.

“Any young spinner who came into the game at whatever level, he would go and talk to them, work with them, give them a pat on the back.

“He was an immense character, but as a player he was top of the tree. For me, he’s the best I’ve ever seen.”

A magician with the ball, the legspinner remains Australia's leading wicket-taker and sits second behind Muthiah Muralidaran globally with 708 scalps in 145 Tests.

He played one of the most influential roles in Australia's golden era of cricket, announcing himself with the magic ball that bowled Mike Gatting in 1993 and bowing out with a 5-0 Ashes whitewash at home in 2006-07.

In between times, he bowled Australia to the 1999 World Cup, helping them back from the brink with unforgettable displays in the semi-final and final.

Such was Warne's brilliance, he took a record 96 wickets in the penultimate year of his career.

All up he finished with 1001 international wickets across all formats, earning spots in the ICC, Australian cricket and Australian sport Hall of Fame.

with AAP

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