(REUTERS) – Former Australia Test cricketer Terry Jenner, who mentored spin-bowling great Shane Warne, has died at the age of 66 yesterday.
Jenner, who took 24 wickets in nine Tests for Australia in the early 1970s, died at home in Adelaide just over a year after suffering a massive heart attack. “Terry passed away peacefully today (yesterday) just a month and a half after the anniversary of his heart attack,” his wife Ann posted on his website.
Jenner served a prison sentence for embezzlement in the 1980s before going on to become spin bowling coach at the Australian Cricket Academy in Adelaide, where he was credited with having a huge influence on turning fellow leg-spinner Warne into a world class bowler.
“Working with Shane changed everything,” Jenner, who had struggled with problem gambling, said last year. I was out there earning the respect of people and the good news is that I felt like I’d redeemed myself for the downs I had.”
Former Australia captain Allan Border said Jenner’s work with Warne alone secured his legacy.
“Terry was a very, very strong influence on Shane Warne. That says it all,” he told Fox Sports News. “There’s not a spin bowler in the country who hasn’t had any time with Terry Jenner. He’s just one of those fellas who connected to the younger generation. He was just so passionate about it.”
The most famous incident in Jenner’s Test career came when he was batting and was hit in the head by a John Snow bouncer during the 1970-1 Ashes series.
The crowd at the Sydney Cricket Ground became so enraged that England skipper Ray Illingworth withdrew his players from the pitch.
“He wore the baggy green and has Australian cricket’s enormous respect,” a Cricket Australia spokesman said. “More than that, he was a significant mentor of later generations including Shane Warne. We’re terribly sad to hear of Terry’s passing.”
His funeral will take place at the Adelaide Oval, his family said.