By Dr Clare Burns
SHANE Keith Warne was known as being a soul of indiscretion.
He was also known for his manners, punctuality, respect for elders, and affection for children. Rest in peace Warnie.
At 6am on Saturday, March 5 my radio alarm went off with the news of Warnie’s death.
I thought I must be dreaming, that my thoughts were jumbled because I had recently seen Warnie’s tribute to Rod Marsh – I pressed snooze.
When the alarm went again with the radio announcing Warnie had died I realised I was not dreaming.
COVID, international conflicts, floods, and now cricketing deaths – not everything seemed right with the world.
My immediate sensemaking was struggling with the news that a father of three for what I consider a youngish 52-year-old man had died, away from his family and country.
Like him or not, Warnie was a public figure who spent equal amounts of time on the front pages as well as the back (sporting) pages of newspapers.
In Australia there was a musical made about him, commentators have proffered if he were Indian there would be Bollywood films about the boy from humble beginnings making it big.
Warnie did not claim to be saint with a capital “S.”
He spoke of his greatest regret as letting down his children and never maintained to be the best husband.
From a secular perspective Warnie grasped some of the concepts of St John Paul’s Theology of the Body which posits romantic relationships as being a foretaste to heaven and the ultimate example on earth as the connection of God’s love for us.
In a 7.30 ABC interview Warnie talked about being in a serious romantic relationship as the ultimate and that he only ever had two such relationships – one with his wife Simone and the other with actress Elizabeth Hurley whom he was engaged to at one time.
Warnie was a continuous disrupter in cricket.
Just when everyone thought leg spin had gone and fast bowlers were the only ones to pay attention to he changed the narrative.
His statics speak for themselves – 708 test wickets.
As a disrupter Warnie also helped introduce newer forms of cricket offerings such as Twenty20 – even though he never lost his passion for test cricket and wanted to see this shine in all its glory.
The Australian Prime Minister has paid tribute to his life, similarly the British Prime Minister, not to mention many commentors from Pakistan, India, and other cricketing countries from across the globe.
The vast majority who have paid tribute to Warnie are not dignities rather, we are average people who love to see good cricket, complete with good commentary.
We pay respect in their own subtle way – conversations with family members, social media posts, a quiet prayer.
On a number of levels Warnie was relatable to many Australians.
This was a man who made mistakes, owned them, apologised and learned (sometimes).
“I’ve been so lucky,” was a line he would use to express the opportunity he’d been given to play cricket for a living knowing one of his alternatives was delivering beds for 40 Winks.
Warnie, like many of us, knew what rejection was after being dropped from the St Kilda (AFL) Football Club at 18 years.
His response to life’s curveball was spin bowling: “Everyone has got to be good at something,” so he focused on the thing he was good at and practiced, practiced, practiced.
Later on in life the curveball Warnie faced was of his own making – he didn’t like the man he had become.
At this realisation, he enlisted the services of a psychologist who encouraged him to write his own obituary, which was a life-giving exercise.
Perhaps we could all learn from engaging in such a spiritual exercise – considering our life at or beyond our deathbed.
Indeed, this death is a reminder we never know when our time on earth will be up.
One of things Warnie worked on in his later years was junior sports, he was passionate in raising awareness on the need for this in multiple countries.
Personally, as someone who was a participant and later coach of junior sports, then had an opportunity play alongside and against Olympic athletes, I could not agree more on the need to shine a spotlight on the importance of junior sports.
Developing skill is important, so too is learning how to win and lose graciously.
The art of surprise was never far from Warnie and he did not fail on this in his final hour.
I join the chorus of voices trying to make sense of his sudden earthly departure and wanting to express heartfelt thoughts and prayers for his family, friends and children.
So often Warnie expressed his love for children.
Rest in peace “Spin King,” you were a rare talent, thank you for serving Australia in the baggy green.
Dr Clare Burns is a Brisbane-based academic.
