MCC is deeply saddened and shocked to hear of the passing of Shane Warne.

Warne was an Honorary Life Member of MCC, a member of the Club’s World Cricket committee, and Head Coach of London Spirit Men, the Lord’s-based team in The Hundred.

The former Australian leg-spinner will be remembered as one of the finest cricketers ever to have played the game, having taken 708 wickets in 145 Test matches for his country, as well as 293 wickets in 194 One-Day Internationals. He was one of only two men to have taken over 1,000 international wickets.

He took 19 wickets in four Test matches at Lord’s against England. He also played in four One-Day Internationals at the Home of Cricket, most notably in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Final of 1999, when he was Player of the Match as Australia defeated Pakistan to win the trophy. 

Warne was awarded Honorary Life Membership of MCC in 2009 and was a key part of the Ground’s 200-year celebrations in 2014, when he captained the Rest of the World XI against MCC in the Bicentenary match. He was appointed to the World Cricket committee in 2018 and remained a very active member of the group until his death.

Guy Lavender, Chief Executive & Secretary of MCC said: “Everyone at the Club is deeply shocked to hear of the passing of Shane Warne, who was a great friend to MCC. He will be remembered as one of the greats of the game.

“He was a rare personality within our sport, bringing honesty, integrity and laughter to everything he did. He will be sorely missed, and our thoughts are with his family and friends at this very sad time.”