Shane Warne, CRICKET's star, shared an image on Instagram from his Thai villa saying "goodnight Koh Samui", hours before his death.

After suffering a suspected heart attack at 52, the sports legend was discovered unresponsive in his villa.

Shane shared an image of himself looking out over the pool and garden at his villa in Thailand just hours before his death on Instagram with the caption "goodnight @samujanvillas, Koh Samui", along with a heart emoticon.

Today, his management released a short statement to confirm that the cricket ace has died.

It reads, "Shane was found unresponsive at his villa and despite all efforts by medical staff, he couldn't be revived."

"The family asks for privacy at this moment and will provide additional details when necessary."

He died hours after tweeting his sadness at Rod Marsh's death. Marsh, a cricket legend, had suffered a heart attack at age 74.

He stated, "Sad news to hear that Rod Marsh has died. He was a legend in our great game and an inspiration to many young girls and boys.

"Rod was deeply concerned about cricket and gave so much, especially to Australia and England players.

"Sending Ros and the family lots & lots love. "RIP, mate!"

Live updates from Shane Warne's death can be found on our Shane Warne Blog

Shane was the captain of Australia's One Day Internationals team and was widely regarded as one of the greatest cricketers.

Warne also played internationally and was a member of the Hampshire English domestic cricket team.

He served as captain of Hampshire from 2005 to 2007. He also played his first test match, in 1992. He also took more than 1,000 international wickets.

The most-viewed cricket clip of all-time, Shane Warne’s Ball of the Century at Old Trafford 1993 was the beginning of the leg-spinner’s legend.

His first Ashes cricket delivery was a swerve in the air. It landed outside Mike Gatting’s leg stump, and it turned so viciously that it cut the stump.

Australia won the match, clinching the Ashes. Gatting's look of bemusement as he marched off was quite striking.

Warned announced his retirement on December 21, 2006 after the fifth Ashes Test match played at the SCG.

He stated that it was his intention "to go out on top", and suggested that he could have retired after the 2005 Ashes series, if Australia had won.

After taking a diuretic, he was given a 12-month ban.

He accused the Australian Cricket Board's Drug Tribunal of bowing down to "anti-doping panic" after a year-long suspension for using a banned substance as a masking ingredient.

Before he announced his retirement from international cricket after the World Cup, he said that his mother Brigitte had given him the Moduretic.

FAMILY

Shane was devastated to reveal that he was alone in his hotel room after Simone Callahan, his ex-wife, broke up with him in 2005.

Simone was his wife for 10 years. They had three children together: Brooke, Jackson, and Summer.

The blonde star, who has a former fiancee Liz Hurley as his love, admitted that he used to drink alone during tears.

Simone shared how her "life was turned upside down" when she arrived to England to start a new chapter with Shane, just as the Ashes series was about begin.

It is...

• Piers Morgan paid tribute to Shane Warne by describing him as "genius cricketer", "supreme entertainer" and "a loyal friend".
• Following the shocking news, Gary Lineker called Warne the "greatest bowler of all times".
• Warne's final tweet was a poignant tribute to Rod Marsh, a fellow cricket legend who also died from a heart attack.

When newspaper reports revealed that Shane was pursuing other women behind his back, including student Laura Sayers, and Kerrie Collimore (mum-of-three), Simone returned home to Australia with their children.

Two months ago, Shane, a former bad boy of cricket, released a documentary titled Simply Shane.

"The effect on my children, they wouldn’t get to see me and it was my fault.

"I would return to the minibar. I was alone in the hotel room, crying out for you d***head.

It was the end of Shane's 10-year-old marriage to Simone. Simone had been accused of cheating in the past.

Simone stood by him after it was revealed that he had harassed a British nurse with obscene messages. This cost him his vice-captaincy position on the national cricket team in 2000.

Later, he dated Hurley. They moved into Hurley's Brighton home and the couple announced their engagement in 2011.

Shane stated that he needed to "live with" the things he did to his family after their 2013 split.

He was rumored to have been seeing Kathryn Long, an American student in 2016.

He was most recently reportedly seen with Australian model Emily Sears.

He began dating the 37-year old in March 2017, and they were married in June 2017.

They first met in Los Angeles, where they shared a three-hour meal.

'GUTTING NEWS'

Many tributes have been paid to the cricket legend, including one from Piers Morgan.

He tweeted, "Absolutely devastated that Shane Warne died from a cardiac attack at the age of 52."

"He was a brilliant cricketer, a supreme entertainer and a great friend over many years.

"Just heartbreaking news. Warnie, I will miss you.

Gary Lineker tweeted: "Terribly shocked and saddened to hear the news Shane Warne had died.

"The greatest spin bowler ever. Can't quite believe it. RIP Shane.

Monty Panesar, England's cricketing hero, said TalkRadio that it was "absolutely devastating" and that the cricketing community would be shocked.

He called Warne one of the "legends" of the game - "on and offline, what he did to cricket was incredible."

Monty continued: "It is absolutely shocking. It's unbelievable that I am even able to talk to you about it.

BBC Breakfast host Dan Walker recalls Shane Warne's appearance on the program in January of this year.

He tweeted, "Genuinely cannot believe the sad news regarding Shane Warne's death. He was on Breakfast just weeks ago and was as vibrant as ever.

"What a talent. He was a great cricketer and will be greatly missed."

Jemima Goldsmith was close friends of Shane Warne and tweeted: "Devastating news about Shane Warne. For so many, including my sons, a sporting hero. A giant-hearted friend."

LIFE AFTER THE CRICKET

It was reported that Shane had plans to build a new $5 million home in Portsea (Victoria) last year.

According to The Herald Sun plans were submitted by him to Mornington Peninsula Shire Council for the construction of an eye-catching property that includes a bowling alley and wine cellar as well as a jet ski garage.

Warne joked that he smoked 100 cigarettes per day in September to get rid of Covid.

The 52-year-old Australian was positive for the disease during the summer and had to be isolated in order to coach The Hundred team London Spirit.

Double-jabbed Warne is a Sky TV cricket pundit. He took 708 Test wickets.

"Don't consider this gospel. This is a tongue-in-cheek joke. I was thinking that if I smoked 100 cigarettes per day, I could kill Covid.

"It didn’t work, and I ended up with a ventilator. It wasn’t ideal.

"I had to go into isolation for ten days, but now I'm back on my feet."