Shane Warne endeared himself to millions during a life cut tragically short, but there was one fact about the brash entertainer that may shock those supporters.
Warne is regarded as the greatest leg-spin bowler in cricket history, finishing his Test career with 708 wickets from 145 matches.
He announced himself on the world stage in 1993 with the famous ‘Ball of the Century’ to England’s Mike Gatting at Old Trafford, a delivery that pitched well outside leg stump and spun sharply to hit off stump.
Warne became a cornerstone of Australia’s golden era under captains Mark Taylor, Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting, playing a key role in Ashes dominance and World Cup success in 1999.
His cricketing genius was matched by his showmanship, with trademark celebrations, on-field banter, and a competitive edge that made him a crowd favourite.
Off the field, Warne’s life was often as colourful as his bowling, with controversies including a one-year ban in 2003 after testing positive to a banned diuretic, high-profile romances with the likes of Liz Hurley, and a reputation for enjoying poker and nightlife.
Shane Warne celebrates winning the World Cup during Australia’s golden era, where he became a cricketing icon
Warne with actress Liz Hurley during their high-profile romance, a relationship that dominated headlines worldwide between 2010 and 2013
Shane Warne shares a light moment on stage with Coldplay frontman and friend Chris Martin
Tragically, Warne died suddenly of a suspected heart attack in March 2022 while holidaying in Thailand at the age of 52.
His death shocked the cricket world, with tributes pouring in globally to honour his genius, charisma and impact on the sport.
Helen Nolan is an Australian personal and life manager best known for managing Shane Warne’s career and personal life for 15 years.
She is now the CEO of the Shane Warne Legacy foundation, overseeing initiatives like free health checks to continue Warne’s charitable impact.
And this week she made a big revelation about the late, great spinner – he never assumed he was in the Australian team, no matter how many wickets he took.
‘When I first started working with him, it was just the two of us in the office,’ Nolan says.
‘He asked me to call Cricket Australia and ask ‘IF’ he’s selected for the Brisbane Test, when would they fly? I said, not knowing anything about cricket, ‘Don’t you just play every game?’ He laughed and said, ‘No, you have to be selected’.
‘I said, ‘Aren’t you really good, though, don’t you just play every game?’ He said, ‘I’ve been lucky enough to be selected for most games, but it’s never a given’. That was him all over. No ego. No assumptions. Never took anything for granted.’
Warne’s famous “Ball of the Century” to Mike Gatting in 1993 remains one of the greatest deliveries in cricket history
Warne was known for his unusual diet, famously preferring pizza, pies, and baked beans over vegetables
Hollywood connection: Gwyneth Paltrow once cooked risotto for Warne — but he cheekily avoided eating it
Warne also had a highly unconventional diet, heavy on pizza, baked beans and pies and including a period where he didn’t eat a vegetable for 17 years.
He infamously had pizza ordered to high-end restaurants and shunned gourmet food, even when it was cooked by Hollywood superstar Gwyneth Paltrow herself.
Helen and Warne were guests at Coldplay frontman Chris Martin’s house when he was married to Paltrow, and she revealed that he couldn’t bring himself to eat her home-cooked risotto.
‘Shane was sneakily moving it around his plate, saying ‘Mmmm, this is beautiful’ while barely eating it,’ she said.
Helen will treasure those memories for life, but she admitted it taken her three years to finally process the fact Warnie was gone forever.
‘That night, I almost went to bed early as I was exhausted, but for some reason I decided to stay up,’ she said.
‘I was on my couch when my phone rang. It was Andrew Neophitou (Neo) at 10.07pm on a Friday. My first thought was, ‘They’ve barely been in Thailand 24 hours, why are they calling me?’
‘Then I thought, Shane might call this late but Neo wouldn’t. So I listened to the voicemail. From his voice alone, I immediately knew something was terribly wrong. So I called back.
‘I don’t remember much of the conversation, but the moment we hung up, everything changed. In less than 10 seconds, my world shattered. I jumped straight into action and didn’t stop working for 30 days straight, completely numb, still in shock over losing the person I spoke to most.
‘I was across every part of Shane’s life – his poker friends, cricket mates, business contacts, family, old friends, overseas connections. Many of them didn’t know each other, so my phone was ringing every 15 seconds.
‘That night, no one could believe it. I was fielding calls from friends asking, ‘It’s not true, right?’ while also managing media fact-checking, and while trying to process it myself. Meanwhile, Neo and I made around 37 calls just that night alone, not counting texts, keeping each other updated every step of the way.
‘It was a surreal, heartbreaking time.’
