Cricket commentator and former English bowler Isa Guha has given a teary farewell to Shane Warne, crediting him for making her feel ‘ten feet taller’.
Warne was just 52 when he was found unconscious after a suspected heart attack at the luxury Samujana Villas resort on the island of Koh Samui on Friday.
Guha, who sat alongside the legspinner in the commentary box countless times was overcome with emotion while speaking on Fox Sports on Saturday.
Cricket commentator and former English bowler Isa Guha has given a teary farewell to Shane Warne, crediting him for making her feel ‘ten feet taller’.=
‘Just stunned … just loved him,’ she said as she tried to hold back tears. ‘He just did so much for so many people and he was magic.
‘He was magic, watching him on the screen as a cricketer. He made people feel that much taller – ten feet taller.’
Guha, a medium-pace bowler, said Warne was nothing but respectful when she joined the commentary box.
‘When he respected and liked someone, he always had that loyalty and generosity, and that just gave me tremendous confidence in the commentary box,’ she continued.
‘Just the magnetism that I talked about, you just wanted to be around him.
Warne’s former teammate Glenn McGrath said he was ‘larger than life’ in a heartfelt tribute on Saturday
‘Tremendous excitement just being in his presence. He really supported me on my journey as a commentator, as a broadcaster, and I’ll never, ever forget that.
‘But I know he is someone who had tremendous gratitude for everything he’d achieved, the people he had met on his journey, his family.
‘He always talked about his family. And he was happy with life.’
Guha’s heartfelt words are just one of countless tributes given to the late spinner.
His former teammates Glenn McGrath and Ricky Ponting shared their own messages to the cricket great.
McGrath said he was ‘absolutely devastated’.
‘Warnie was larger than life,’ he wrote. ‘I thought nothing could ever happen to him. He lived more in his life than most people would live in 20.
Ponting credited Warne for giving him the nickname Punter, after meeting when Ponting was 15-years-old
‘He was the ultimate competitor. He thought the game was never lost, that he could turn it around and bring us to victory, which he did so many times. I think he lived his life the same way. There seemed to be never a dull moment.’
McGrath said his thoughts were with Warne’s family.
Ponting, 47, met Warne at the age of 15, and credited him for giving him the nickname of Punter.
‘We were teammates for more than a decade, riding all the highs and lows together,’ Ponting said.
‘Through it all he was someone you could always count on, someone who loved his family
‘Someone who would be there for you when you needed him and always put his mates first. The greatest bowler I ever played with or against.’
Warne’s legacy won’t be forgotten with the Melbourne Cricket Ground’s Great Southern Stand now being renamed the S.K. Warne Stand.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said a state funeral would be arranged to farewell Warne.
A young Warne is seen during a Test with Sri Lanka in 2004
‘Shane was one of our greatest cricketers of all time, one of only a few that could approach the extraordinary achievements of the great Don Bradman. His achievements were the product of his talent, his discipline and passion for the game he loved,’ Morrison said.
‘But Shane was more than this to Australians. Shane was one of our nation’s greatest characters. His humour, his passion, his irreverence, his approachability ensured he was loved by all. Australians loved him. We all did.’
Aussie actor Hugh Jackman was another heartbroken at the news.
‘I’m grateful to have known him, and to have witnessed his once in a generation talent,’ he shared.
‘My heartfelt sympathies to his family and close friends at this incredibly difficult time. Rest well Shane.’
