Thai authorities were preparing to conduct an autopsy on the body of Australian cricket superstar Shane Warne, who died of a suspected heart attack, before flying him home where he will receive a state funeral.
Police said there was no foul play suspected in the 52-year-old’s death after he was found unresponsive in a luxury villa on Thai holiday island Koh Samui late Friday.
The “King” of spin’s unexpected passing sparked a global outpouring of grief from prime ministers, rock stars and fellow players, an acknowledgement that the Melbourne native transcended his sport.
Yesterday, Warne’s three children reacted to his death, with friend and manager James Erskine saying they were “in complete shock”.
“Jackson (Warne’s son) just said ‘We expect him to walk in the door. This is like a bad dream’,” Erskine told Australia’s Channel Nine.
The player – one of the greatest Test cricketers of all time – was found unresponsive in a Samujana resort villa on Friday after failing to meet friends.
Warne was taken to the Thai International Hospital Samui at about 6:00pm (1100 GMT), but his management said despite medical efforts “he could not be revived”.
Officers on the holiday island said Saturday “no foul play was suspected” following an initial investigation and confirmed Warne’s body would be transported to Surat Thani for an autopsy. Early yesterday AFP reporters saw a body placed in an ambulance from the morgue where Warne’s body had been kept overnight.
Relatives had “already co-ordinated with the Australian Embassy so that right after the autopsy’s finished, they will take his body back to Australia,” said local police chief Yutthana Sirisombat. 
Prime Minister Scott Morrison led tributes to one of the country’s “greatest characters” and announced Warne would receive a full state funeral.
Victoria state premier Daniel Andrews said Warne’s family had accepted, and that the funeral would be “an opportunity for Victorians to pay tribute to his contribution to his sport, to our state and the country.”
Credited with reviving the art of leg-spin, Warne was part of a dominant Australian Test team in the 1990s and 2000s and helped his country win the 1999 limited-overs World Cup. His tally of 708 Test wickets has been surpassed only by fellow spinner Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka. 
The first bowler to take 700 Test wickets with an assortment of leg-breaks, googlies, flippers and his own “zooters”, Warne retired from Australia duty in 2007 following a 5-0 series win at home to arch-rivals England.
Warne played 145 Tests in total over a 15-year career, taking 708 wickets, and was also a useful lower-order batsman, with a highest Test score of 99.
Warne was divorced from wife Simone Callahan, with whom he had three children.