Shane Warne’s life was one marked by achievements and attention — on and off the cricket pitch.
But what propped up his sporting prowess was decades of charitable pursuits that often took place behind the scenes.
Many of the spinner’s acts of kindness have again come to light in the days since his death on Friday from a heart attack in a Thai villa where he was on holiday.
One anecdote, which has gone viral in the days since Warne’s death, told of the star’s time for disabled children.
Sky News political editor Andrew Clennell took to Twitter to share one instance of this generosity, which took place when he worked at WACA stadium in Perth while studying at university.
“One day I was at the entrance to an area where disabled kids were. I saw Shane Warne come to that area and talk to a kid for 20 mins before play,” he wrote.
“No cameras. He was just doing something out of goodness of his heart.”
Warne’s generosity was most obvious through The Shane Warne Foundation, which aimed to support sick and underprivileged children in Australia.
Despite closing amid allegations about its financial and reporting practices in 2016, the charity raised $7.8 million when it operated for the 12 years prior.
It was cleared of any unlawful conduct by Consumer Affairs Victoria the following year.
The likes of James Packer, Karl Stefanovic, John Ilhan, Eddie McGuire and Garry Lyon sat on the not-for-profit’s board throughout its existence.
One of the youngsters who said the charity offered him some of the best moments in life was Kristopher Hinz, who suffers cerebral palsy.
The Shane Warne Foundation sponsored his treatment at a gym designed for children with disabilities for six years.
Mr Hinz expressed his support and defended Warne in a letter to the Sunday Herald Sun after the charity was first investigated.
“He stayed at the foundatxjmtzywion for hours longer than he was scheduled to, and bowled to me and the others until his managers dragged him away,” he wrote.
“Warne came into my life at a time when I stood on the sidelines of the cricket field jealously, wishing to participate and cursing my disability.”
Mr Hinz, who was 23 when the letter was penned in 2016, said the man he met was different from Warne’s celebrity image.
“The public perception of him is that he is arrogant, rude or aloof. That he’s not very connected to the every day person,” he wrote.
“That is quite different to what I experienced with the foundation. He was personable, approachable and very down to earth.”
A similar gratitude was carried by Aiden Buchanan who befriended Warne after losing his brother, sister and uncle in the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires.
The pair first met not long after the tragedy, which unfolded in the Victorian town of Kinglake when Mr Buchanan was just 13 years old.
Warne said in 2016 he made a pledge to the Buchanan family early on to be a mentor and friend for the youngster.
“When I met Aiden he started crying, and his family said it was the first time he ever cried,” he said at the time.
“Ever since then I gave my word to the family I would stick by him and mentor him and come up and help him out and watch him play footy and those kind of things.
“We speak on the phone all the time and message and see each other when we can.”
The once fire-ravaged area’s local MP Danielle Green, who represents Yan Yean, recalled Warne’s commitment to the community in a post after his death.
“Sporting legend, father, larrikin and mate. Most of all he was kind, caring and generous,” she wrote on Facebook.
“I met Shane Warne after Black Saturday when he took Aiden Buchanan and the Kinglake community under his wing.
“He never came with fanfare or ceremony but simply brought his humour, kindness and humanity to lift the spirits of those who had lost so much.
“Warnie’s own family must be simply devastated, but so too his Kinglake family.”
Warne’s family have accepted Premier Daniel Andrews’ offer of a state funeral, which is expected to take place in Melbourne once his remains return home.
