RAWALPINDI: There mood here at the Pindi Cricket Stadium on Saturday was sombre, as it was on Friday.

Just before the start of second day’s proceedings in the first Test, Australian and Pakistan teams and umpires wearing black armbands observed one-minute silence to mourn the demise of leg-spin icon Shane Warne whose death of a suspected heart attack late on Friday shocked the entire cricketing world.

Earlier, prior to the first day’s play of the Test, they had done the same to mourn the death of wicket-keeping legend Rod Marsh, another former Australian, who had passed away earlier on Friday after suffering a heart attack a few days ago.

A picture of Warne, 52, was also displayed on a big screen at the stadium to pay homage to the king of leg-spin.

Meanwhile, media personnel covering the Rawalpindi Test also observed one-minute silence to pay homage to Warne.

Former Pakistan captain and fast bowling legend Waqar Younis, who attended the condolence ceremony held at the media centre, said he was shocked and shattered over the sad news.

“The great leg-spinner will be remembered forever,” Waqar said.

While offering his condolence to the family of Warne, Waqar said, “He [Warne] was not just a legend; he was a superstar, as simple as that. Warne was an amazing friend and great helper.”

He recalled Warne’s help and guidance on a number of occasions to Pakistan leg-spinner Yasir Shah, when he struggled in international competitions.

Besides several Pakistani journalists, Geoff Lemon from The Guardian and Australian Melinda Farrell, who works for Sporting News, also paid glowing tributes to Warne.

Lemon said Warne’s relationship with Pakistan was very strong.

“Warne was a great player and wherever he went people wanted to see him,” Lemon said. “The popularity of this star cricketer can be gauged from the fact that he had a huge fan following everywhere, including, Pakistan India and England.”

According to Farrell, Warne’s contributions on the cricketing field and outside of it were remarkable.

“People of this generation were lucky to have such a superstar and his name will be remembered forever for spin bowling,” she remarked.

“The passing away of two iconic players is extremely shocking for us. Yesterday evening when I heard about death of Shane Warne, I did not believe immediately. But later on, the sad news turned out to be true.. it’s a sad time for us as we lost two great players,” Melinda Farrell told Dawn.

Published in Dawn, March 6th, 2022