James Erskine, Shane Warne’s long-time manager, has revealed how the legendary cricketer’s family reacted to news of his tragic death, as the rest of the world comes to terms with the shock.
Erskine had earlier revealed details about Warne’s final moments, and on Sunday explained how Warne’s nearest and dearest took the news of his passing from a suspected heart attack in Thailand.
Erskine said Warne’s ex-wife Simone was “really upset” as their three kids Jackson, Brooke and Summer now face life without their dad.
“I think the three children are in complete shock,” Erskine told Weekend Today. “I spoke to them yesterday, and again Jackson just said, ‘We just expect him to walk in the door. This is like a bad dream’.
“I spoke to Simone, who was really upset, and obviously Keith, Shane’s father, is a pretty strong individual but, like everybody he’s just shattered. They can’t believe what’s happened.
“I think that’s what happens when you have a sudden death and you’re not expecting it.
“One minute the kids are talking to him every day, the next minute they can’t talk to him and then they start thinking about, ‘He’s not going to be there for my 21st, he’s not going to take me down the aisle’.
“All of those sorts of things go through your head. They are having a much harder time than anybody, really.”
Warne’s mother Brigitte had shared: “We’re just in shock. We’re OK.”
Thai police revealed Warne was suffering chest pain before he left Australia for a holiday in Koh Samui.
Police Colonel Yuthana Sirisombat told reporters on Saturday night his family had informed them of the late cricket legend’s history of heart disease and asthma and their concern about his health before he left Australia last week.
The 52-year-old had recently “seen a doctor about his heart”, Sirisombat said.
His manager was unaware of the extent of those issues, saying: “I didn’t know about that. I did know from Helen, his secretary, that he’d had a bit of a chest pain and also was sweating last week but I only found that later on after he’d died. I didn’t know that at the time.”
Image: YouTube / Kayo Sports
This article first appeared on OverSixty.