Ricky Ponting recalled the special memories he had with the late Shane Warne.
Warne, who was 52, passed away of a suspected heart attack last Friday (March 4). He was found unresponsive in his villa in Thailand and couldn’t be revived despite the best efforts of medical staff.
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"He was a teacher through his commentary and I've seen hundreds of photos over the last 24 hours of all the spinners he worked with. He helped Steve Smith in his younger days and Rashid Khan has been catching up with him - just imagine the conversations they would have had. So I feel it is now up to me whenever I get an opportunity to just let the world know what he was like and pass on some of the things I learnt from him," Ponting said on the 'ICC Review'.
"I woke up nice and early I was getting the kids ready to go to netball and Rianna (Ponting's wife) looked at her phone and told me the news about Warney. I grabbed the phone out of her hand to look at it and I couldn't believe it and it is still the same now. It was so raw to me I couldn't really speak and every time I thought about him and our experiences and our journey together and I just got short for words," he added.
Ponting got emotional when asked if he could say something to Warne now.
"I would say just how much I love him. I didn't say that to him and I wish I did," the ex-captain said.
Ricky Ponting recalled the special memories he had with Warne and also paid tribute to the type of man he was.
"If you spent a day with him it was amazing to see some of the names flashing up on his mobile phone. It was very rare for Warney just to be sitting at home. He would always try and find time for his friends and his family and that was one of his great strengths," said Ponting.
"The more people talking about Shane, the thing that will shine through will be just how loyal he was to family and friends and how loved he was. He had the energy that drew you to him and that is a trait that not a lot of people have," he added.
Shane Warne was widely regarded as the greatest spinner to have played the game. He represented Australia in 145 Tests, claiming 708 wickets at an average of 25.42 with 37 five-wicket hauls. He also picked up 293 wickets in 194 ODIs and played a key role in Australia’s 1999 World Cup triumph.