Shane Warne‘s former teammate Brett Lee has given an insight into the spin king’s off-field persona, describing him as “one of the best fathers that you will ever meet”.
Warne leaves behind three children who he adored dearly, two daughters Brooke and Summer and his son, Jackson after his tragic death in Koh Samui, Thailand.
Lee shared the dressing room with Warne for the best part of a decade before the legend’s retirement in 2007, but touched on the side of Warne that many didn’t see: his caring and nurturing side.
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“The thing a lot of people don’t understand about Shane Warne, yes, we see the rock-star image and hanging out at A-list parties and he’s had his fair share of controversies, but it’s the big heart he had,” Lee told Nine’s TODAY.
“All the stuff he did with his charity, all the things he did behind the scenes that most of the public, unless you know him very, very well, don’t get to see that.
“It’s a really sad moment. I’m totally devastated but one thing I am really devastated about is his beautiful three kids.
“That documentary that just came out, I only watched it the other night, that documentary about Shane, and the love he had for his children, they will have a very tough period ahead of them.”
Warne carved out a terrific commentary career after his retirement, with his voice heard on broadcasts all over the world, but Lee revealed that the spin king had been contemplating winding down his commitments to spend more family time.
“He was all in, in terms of being a father,” Lee said.
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“You know, they can say whatever they want about Shane Warne, but he was one of the best fathers that you will ever meet.
“He spoke to his kids on a regular basis, and I guess the really frustrating thing for Shane Warne and definitely for his family is the fact that he was away so much. At this sort of age of 52, he was starting to pick and choose when he would commentate, pick and choose the tours he would go on to spend more time with his family.
“I know that he was very close with his son Jackson.”
Lee was on hand in September 2020 when another Victorian legend, Dean Jones, tragically died when the pair were in India to commentate the IPL. Lee had tried desperately to revive Jones, and said the news of Warne’s death brought those memories back.
“That was the first thing that sprung to mind, you know, that his mates that would’ve found Warnie unresponsive, and it just takes you back to that time, obviously, with Dean Jones,” he said.
“I’ve actually heard from most of Dean Jones’ family saying they’re all thinking of me, and you know, you think about that happened over 12 months ago, still very, very raw, but it’s been a horrible 12 months for Australian cricket.
“You think Alan Davidson who passed away, the wonderful Dean Jones, a wonderful Victorian, Shane Warne and of course, Rod Marsh, just 48 hours ago. It’s been a shocking year.
“You could say a million things about Shane Warne, but at the end of the day, it’s just too young, 52 years of age. Warnie should’ve been living on for at least another 30 or 40 years.”