Details surrounding the death of Shane Warne have continued to emerge following the 52-year-old’s sudden death, including what he ate for his final meal.
One of the friends holidaying with Warne at the Samujan resort in Thailand has shared the group’s last moments together before the cricket legend suffered a suspected heart attack.
Tom Hall met Warne 15 years ago at a charity poker match, where the pair struck up a relationship. As CEO of The Sporting News, Hall penned an article for that outlet paying tribute to “the Shane Warne you don’t know”.
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According to Hall, the day began completely normal.
After figuring out how to watch the Australia-Pakistan Test on TV, Hall said Warne had announced that he had brought him a present and “excitedly” disappeared into his room.
“You’re never quite sure what that means with Shane; it could be a bottle of his 708 gin, his fragrance, some book he thought I would enjoy or a random T-shirt,” Hall wrote.
“He came back with an armful of clothes looking like he had been at a yard sale. Neo and Gaz were obviously aware of what was going on as Neo pulled out his camera.
“Shane had been working with me at The Sporting News for the past year or so and he presented me with his jumper from the 2005 Ashes Test, his 2008 IPL shirt and a one-day international shirt and cap to place in the TSN offices in Australia and the UK. Amazing gifts I knew the teams would love and cherish.
“As we went through the shirts and jumpers, more stories came out about the first IPL season and how he had inherited a team which had several unknown players in it. They lost their opening game, but Shane told (Rajasthan Royals owner) Manoj Badale, ‘Don’t worry mate, we’ll be OK’. They promptly won the rest of their games and the inaugural IPL title.”
Next, it was time to grab a snack, Warne settling on a reminder of home, an epitome of the larger than life Aussie that he was.
“After joking around with the various cricket gear and Rob and a few others getting pictures with Shane, we decide on a quick bite to eat,” Hall wrote.
“The conversation ran from poker, to a planned trip to Tulum in Mexico, the upcoming IPL season and the usual assortment of golfing stories.
“I have dined with Shane in many fine establishments, but rather than sample some of the local Thai fare, we tuck into a plate of Vegemite on toast. Shane chomping away: ‘Geez, you can’t beat Vegemite with some butter, always great wherever you are in the world’.
“An Australian through and through — this was to turn out to be his last meal. Ever the caring father, as I was leaving, he headed up to his bedroom to call his kids.”
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