AS former Australia captain, Ricky Ponting, struggles to comprehend the unexpected death of close friend and cricketing great, Shane Warne, he has vowed to ensure the champion leg-spinner’s legacy lives on.

The cricket world was left stunned when Warne died of a heart attack at the age of 52, in Thailand on Saturday, and speaking on the latest edition of The ICC Review, an emotional Ponting described how the tragedy has rocked him and revealed what he wish he could have said to Warne before he passed away.

Ponting bristled with pride reflecting on their playing days together for Australia and shared his appreciation for Warne’s on-field advice and friendship post-retirement.

And Ponting wants to make sure Warne’s positive attitude, cricket acumen and willingness to mentor the younger generation is not lost to the game.

“He was a teacher through his commentary and I’ve seen hundreds of photos over the last 24 hours of all the spinners he worked with,” Ponting told Isa Guha, on The ICC Review.

“He helped Steve Smith in his younger days and Rashid Khan has been catching up with him — just imagine the conversations they would have had.

“So, I feel it is now up to me whenever I get an opportunity to just let the world know what he was like and pass on some of the things I learnt from him.”

The news of Warne’s untimely death came less than 24 hours after the passing of another Australian cricketing great, with former wicketkeeper Rod Marsh also dying of a heart attack last week.

“I woke up nice and early; I was getting the kids ready to go to netball and Rianna (Ponting’s wife) looked at her phone and told me the news about Warney,” he said.

“I grabbed the phone out of her hand to look at it and I couldn’t believe it, and it is still the same now.

“It was so raw to me I couldn’t really speak and every time I thought about him and our experiences and our journey together and I just got short for words.

“Even today I have had the TV on watching the tributes, but every time I hear his voice I have to turn it off.

“It’s been a tough couple of days, but it makes us a bit more aware of things I probably need to pay more attention to and there is stuff there for all of us to learn.”

Ponting knew Warne better than most having played alongside the iconic figure for much of his 15-year international career, where the duo shared numerous Test victories, memorable series triumphs and a successful World Cup campaign in 1999.

But while Ponting lived in the same Melbourne bayside suburb as Warne and even caught up for the occasional game of golf all the way up to his passing, the former Australia skipper said there was one thing he will now never get to share with his long-time friend.

“I would say just how much I love him,” Ponting said tearily, when asked what he would say to Warne if he had the chance for one final conversation
Ponting also reflected on the special memories he had with his close mate and admitted he was in awe of some of the leg-spinner’s friends, while also paying homage to the type of man he was.

“If you spent a day with him (it was amazing) to see some of the names flashing up on his mobile phone,” Ponting said.

“It was very rare for Warney just to be sitting at home. He would always try and find time for his friends and his family and that was one of his great strengths.

“The more people talking about Shane, the thing that will shine through will be just how loyal he was to family and friends and how loved he was.

“He had the energy that drew you to him and that is a trait that not a lot of people have.”(ICC.com)