The greatest leg-spinner of all time, and arguably the best bowler of all time, died of a suspected heart attack at the age of 52.
When he began his professional life as a shy and chubby boy from the outer suburbs, he was an unlikely candidate for a sporting hero or national icon.
That character started a revolution, turning a dour Australian cricket scene into box-office entertainment in the 90s and early 2000s, and single-handedly reviving the sport of leg-spin bowling.
Scandal followed him as closely as the adulation, as he took money from illegal bookmakers, was banned for using drugs, and was indiscretions.
With a confidence that quickly flourished, Warne was a prominent cricket commentator in Australia and the UK until his death.
Even though he grew up in Melbourne, he never stopped cheering on his St Kilda Australian Rules football team.
He made his Test debut at the age of 22 after playing cricket at the Australian Academy of Sport at the age of 19 and playing at first-class level by 21.
Cricket captains thought leg-spin was too risky because it meant more mistakes and more runs.
The first fourinnings of the first four days of the Tests returned one strike for 335, and the end was near. He knocked over three Sri Lankans in 31 balls to win a thriller in Colombo, but then he vanished.
The legend began with his first Test delivery in England, a ball of the century that flew all the way across Mike Gatting.
His accuracy was his main weapon. He might bowl one or two bad balls per hour. He could shred the ball or not.
The players were worried about the Gatting one, so they went for straight balls.
The showmanship was what defined him. It felt like watching someone who was a magician, a card sharp, and an entertainer in equal measure. The ball was hung in the air and spun like a sphere.
He was aware of his power. He asked the people to consider what might come next. He made them wait before he delivered the coup de grace.
He fired in flippers, which scuttled straight on, and sawed players in half. He made them afraid. They had to talk themselves out of it.
His bowling approach used a lot of power during his delivery stride. Each promised the world and walked to the crease.
He had a hat-trick, a one-day World Cup win, and shoulder surgery after all of that work.
He was ruled out of captaincy discussions in 2000 due to too many embarrassing headlines about his personal behavior.
More shoulder surgery followed. While trying to recover in time for the 2003 World Cup, he tested positive for a banned diuretic and was suspended for a year.
With typical blitheness, he shrugged off all of this to enjoy a final few glorious years, setting the world record for Test wickets before finishing in 2007, a mark that only his great spin-bowling rival Muttiah Muralitharan has since gone past.
In 2008 he joined the Melbourne Stars for the first season of the Big Bash League and in 2008 he captained and coached the Rajasthan Royals to victory in the inaugural Indian Penalties League.
He was rumored to be making a national comeback with the lack of quality spinners.
He moved into more trouble, becoming a celebrity poker player and golfer, hosting a short-lived variety show, running a charity foundation that was shut down, and establishing himself at the centre of commentary teams for Sky Cricket and Supersport.
In some quarters, public affection for Warne waned, but overall it remained.
He may have been accepted because of his weaknesses, not because of them. People saw a person who wasn't pretending to be someone else.
Despite the stumbles, they saw his good cheer. They looked back to see the magician who had once cast a spell over their cricketing lives, the man who took the hardest art in the game to make it into his, and his alone.
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