There was no country in world cricket Shane Warne tormented more than Australia’s old enemy, England.
Warne faced England on 36 occasions in the Test arena and picked up 195 wickets, the most ever by an English opponent in Test history. Warne never picked up more wickets against any of the other Test playing nations.
England was also on the wrong on end of some of his most iconic moments. From the famous ‘Gatting Ball’, to his Ashes hat-trick in 1994 and his 700th wicket on Boxing Day, Warne loved feasting on England.
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However, despite the torture dished out by Warne towards England, the spin icon was incredibly loved and was undoubtedly the most popular Australian cricketer in the country.
The English love for Warne has been never more evident than the widespread mourning and the outpouring of emotion from those in the country following his tragic death on Saturday.
From former foes such as Michael Vaughan, to current England captain Joe Root, to rock stars such as Mick Jagger, people across the UK have been left crestfallen by Warne’s demise.
So just why was Warne more loved than perhaps any of England’s other sporting rivals?
The answer is simple according to English cricket commentator Mark Nicholas, who shared the box with the Australian champion for the Nine Network.
“His sense of fun, his brightness, his smile, his sense of optimism, his generosity to others,” Nicholas told Nine’s Sport Sunday.
“He didn’t mind being beaten. He called 2005 the best series that he played in. He said that England deserved to win that series.
“He didn’t hide behind anything. He had a good series himself, which makes it easier to talk about it positively, but he did so because he really believed the cricket was so good.
“You know what it is like here, it can be a bit grey at times, yet it never was when he was around in any walk of life. He seemed to brighten things. He brought sunshine into people’s homes by the way that he played cricket.”
Nicholas compared Warne’s impact on fans around the world to that of some of the world’s great sportspeople, such as golf legend Tiger Woods.
“I would say he is one of the few cricketers – I was going to say of the modern era, but maybe any era – that would drag you away from whatever you were doing at any specific moment to watch. When he was bowling, you watched. Like when Tiger Woods was hitting the golf ball, you watched,” he said.
“They loved him. He was very polite and very charming, good with people, signs autographs, did the selfies, patient. Wow, I mean, I know you sort of go on about him.
“You think about it now and you realise what we will miss, this larger than life character who had time for others, which is a great thing in life, isn’t it, really?”