Shane Warne’s son has revealed the extraordinary act from his late father that made the father of international singing superstar Ed Sheeran the happiest he had ever been.
Warne was the king of the cricket world, wowing fans with his innate ability to bamboozle batsmen and endear himself to fans from around the world at the same time.
The Aussie leg-spinner finished with 708 Test wickets and tragically died of a heart attack in 2022, leaving a gaping hole in the cricket landscape.
During his commentary days, Warne became friends with many famous celebrities, including English crooner Ed Sheeran.
Speaking to the Ausmerican Aces podcast, Warne’s son Jackson revealed the lowkey way they first met.
‘Ed came to Melbourne for the first time, I think 2013,’ he said.
Australian spinner Shane Warne and British singer Ed Sheeran enjoyed a strong friendship
Sheeran’s dad John, pictured right, was a huge fan of Warney and got to face him in the nets for two hours
‘When Dad was staying at Crown, he walked into like, the Crown Villas and there was two big security guards.
‘Dad said ‘this is a bit strange, they’re not normally here’.
‘Anyway he went into his room and then a few minutes later he got a knock on the door from those two security guards.
‘They said ‘excuse me Mr Warne, I’ve got someone that would like to meet you’.
‘He’s like ‘OK, who is it?’. He said ‘Ed Sheeran’. Dad’s like ‘Who’s that?’.
‘Brooke, who was in the background, was like ‘God, Dad, that’s the singer, he’s here in Melbourne doing a concert’.
The security guard then asked if would be OK for Sheeran to visit Warne in his room, which Warne agreed to.
‘It was just Ed by himself with a guitar,’ Jackson said.
Warne and Sheeran became friends after they were both staying at Crown in Melbourne
‘It was a completely normal conversation … he stayed in the room for a few hours. They were just talking about life, they just had a really good relationship after that.’
‘But then every time Dad would go to England, Ed’s Dad, No.1 cricket fan of all time,’
‘Loved cricket and his favourite player was Dad, just obsessed with him.
‘So Ed organised a day and he said ‘excuse me Shane, it’s my Dad’s dream to just face an over from you. Can you just make his dream come true?’.
‘He said ‘of course mate’.’
What happened next blew the Sheeran family away.
‘He ended up bowling to Ed Sheeran’s Dad for two hours,’ Jackson said.
‘He said his shoulder was cooked after it, no warm up.
Fans have praised Warne for his dedication in making Sheeran’s dad’s dreams come true
‘But Dad said to see Ed’s Dad’s face just like amazed every single time … and Dad was doing all of them [his deliveries].
‘Ed and his Dad were like just like ‘this is the coolest thing ever’.’
The anecdote was met with universal praise from cricket fans, for Warne and also for his children for keeping his legacy alive.
‘Genuinely one of the greatest human beings, there is so many stories out there like this,’ one posted.
Another added: ‘You are doing your Dad proud matie. I so enjoy the stories. We miss Shane big time.’
‘Met your dad loads of times over in England. Was star struck every single one of those times but he was so down to earth and genuine,’ posted another friend of Warnes.
‘An all time legend, and we have been lucky to have witnessed him, even at the basic spectator level,’ posted another fan.
