Shane Warne – A Tribute

The greatest spin bowler and one of the best cricketing minds to have graced the field – Shane Keith Warne.

This painting was commissioned by a dear and long time friend of Shane’s and indeed the entire Warne family. South African businessman Gavin Varejes approached me shortly after Shane’s sudden passing and asked me to create an image that I felt depicted Warnie at his best as a cricketer. I had his entire career to choose from and landed on the Ashes series of 2005.

Not long after a year away from the game SKW came back to international cricket with a BANG! Demolishing the sri Lankans with 26 wickets in 3 test matches, he entered the now legendary 2005 Ashes series on top of his game and as hungry as ever. Despite many off field distractions at the time he dominated the series with 40 wickets at and average of 19.92 as well as scoring 249 runs.

I’ve depicted him in the first test at Lords where he took 6 wickets in a 239 run win. It’s late in the day as the afternoon sun gets low. Warnie is dusty and sweaty but still fizzing them just as hard as in the first over he bowled. This is a feature of the late great spinner that doesn’t get as much attention. His prodigious talent was obvious to all, but his grit, determination and stamina were in equal parts what elevated him in the the stratosphere of world cricket history. You can see his messed up hair and the dirt on his pants as the Lords patrons look on with grudging respect.

You may also see a few familiar faces in the crowd amongst the bacon and egg garbed onlookers. Shane’s 3 children, Brooke, Summer and Jackson watch on proudly, as does Gavin and his family, along with a few South African cricketers who are friends of his.

The original oil on canvas stands 2 metres tall – larger than life, just like the man himself. It took 4 months to complete and, as a cricket tragic myself who had the opportunity to work with Shane on several projects over the years… it was a labour of love.

RIP SKW