'Pretty hard time': Ricky Ponting's emotional tribute to Shane Warne
Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting has delivered an emotional tribute to Shane Warne, after the 54-year-old's sudden death last weekend.
Tributes have flowed from around the world for Warne, with cricket fans in shock over the leg spin legend's death in Thailand.
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Many of Warne's former teammates have spoken about the indelible mark Warne left on the game, both through his exploits on and off the field.
Ponting, who knew Warne as a teammate and friend for 32 years, delivered one of the most stirring of those and demonstrated just how shocking Warne's death has been.
In an interview with 7News, a clearly devastated Ponting needed to compose himself several times for the camera as he discussed what made Warne such a special cricketer and friend.
“I was shocked I think like probably the rest of the world,” he said.
“I’ve had a few hours now to digest it all and think about how big a part of my life he was and reflect on a lot of those memories through the years.
“Because he knew and touched so many people you can understand that the outpouring of emotion started amongst us.
"Like most, I’ve been trying to stay away from them (text messages) a little bit because I find it a little bit hard to get on the phone to some of the boys. It’s a pretty hard time.”
That Australian team redefined cricket - Gilchrist, McGrath, Ponting, Waugh et al - but even among them, Shane Warne was something else again. He took spin bowling to another dimension. An icon, a force of nature, a genius, a showman, a superstar. A heartbreaking loss
— Andrew Benson (@andrewbensonf1) March 4, 2022
Ponting had a hard time getting words out when asked about how he would remember Warne.
The former skipper said it was the way Warne, through his sheer force of personality, fashioned himself almost into a brand unto himself, while maintaining his unparalleled skill as a leg spin bowler.
“Every young kid in the country wanted to be Shane Warne and wanted to bowl leg spin,” he said.
“It was the marketability side of it as well. He signed that first deal with Nike and you saw him with Michael Jordan while I was sitting back in awe at what Shane was turning himself into,” he said.
“He’ll be remembered as one of the all-time greats, but for a generation, every young kid wanted to be Shane Warne and wanted to bowl leg spin.
“He is going to down as one of the all-time greats of the game if not the greatest."
Tributes for Shane Warne pour in after shock death
Mark Taylor thought Shane Warne's "turbulent life" would just keep rolling on forever.
But now, the former Australian captain is like the rest of his teammates: numbed at news of Warne's death.
"He has had a turbulent life but a very full life," Taylor told the Nine Network on Saturday.
"He had been through all sorts of scandals.
"He mesmerised us with his bowling and his competitive nature on the field.
"We have loved that real ocker side of Shane Warne.
"You just felt, I certainly did, he would go on forever.
"It is a huge shock for me and it is a huge shock for the cricketing world."
Warne, 52, died suddenly of a suspected heart attack while holidaying on the Thailand island of Koh Samui.
Another of Warne's Australian captains, Steve Waugh, said he had "so many memories and moments that will never be forgotten" of the legspinner.
"It was a privilege and a pleasure to play alongside you," Waugh posted on Instagram.
Glenn McGrath said he was "absolutely devastated".
Like Taylor, he believed "nothing could ever happen to him".
"Warnie was larger than life ... he lived more in his life than most people would live in 20," McGrath said.
With AAP
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