I have sometimes wondered, is Shane Warne the world’s greatest leg spin bowler also the world’s biggest twit? His off-field shallowness begs further investigation, as well as the fact he seems to have left little legacy to the sport he loved so much. On a search through international media archives, apart from the South Australian Advertiser and Sunday Mail, The Herald Sun and FoxSports.com, Warnie, as he is affectionately known by friends and foe alike, has limited personal profile, and his reputation seems to survive off the fat of the profile he now gains from The Shane Warne Foundation (TSWF) and his relationship with Liz Hurley. Another great Australian cricketer said at a sports heroes lunch some years ago in Adelaide that Warnie was “one of the most amazing and brilliant cricketers he had ever seen, but was also one of the dumbest people he had ever met”. And yet many would say the man who was beneath the baggy green cap has a certain charisma and appeal, and lives on after cricket making a significant and decent contribution to society, so maybe we should consider whether the media has the right to publicly humiliate Warnie, and therefore his family.

Perhaps this amazing cricketing legend has just been made to seem a boof-head and a fool because his non-cricketing activities are public property purely because of his sporting and celebrity profile. His antics with the young New Zealand fan and novice photographer taking his photo whilst having a cigarette, the humiliating texting affairs splashed all over the news would have hurt him, but more importantly would have devastated his ex-wife and children, and his ban from cricket for taking weight loss drugs are just a few of his personal embarrassments. Is the media right to make such mountains out of human behaviour, and is it fair to also expose a person with public profile just to sell a newspaper?Shane Warne was born on 13^th September 1969 at Upper Ferntree Gully in Victoria, and has three children with his ex-wife Simone Callahan. He was a brilliant Australian cricketer, and is still considered one of the best leg spin bowlers in the history of cricket. Before he stared to play cricket professionally he was a reserve footballer for St Kilda, making the switch to test cricket, playing his first test match in the 1991-1992 season. He retired from International cricket in January 2007 and in March 2008 he announced his retirement from playing first class cricket to pursue other business interests.

Since retirement Shane has worked continuously for The Shane Warne Foundation, which is a charity that assists seriously ill and underprivileged children primarily in Australia but also around the world. His foundation has raised a considerable amount of money for children since its launch in 2004 and his commitment for children was evidenced after the Tsunami in 2004 when he donated a vast sum of money to the children of Sri Lanka. Warne’s ‘other business interests’ are more accurately described as professional Poker, and he has been heard to say he needed to replace the competitiveness of cricket with another competitive interest! This new business interest commands little empathy or public support, apart from his high profile mates like James Packer who also have the high incomes to participate in such a high end hobby or occupation. Luckily for him The Shane Warne Foundation makes him look like a philanthropist, although some could see it as a cover up for his gambling. The connotations that gambling would bring to his reputation if that was his only business interest would be far from positive to many of his fans, so TSWF can either be considered a great and generous gift he is giving to the community and the children of Australia and around the world, or a blanket of ‘good will’ that he has surrounded himself in to ensure his public reputation is more likely to be positive.

As with the lobby groups of interested teachers and parents against the Krispy Kreme fundraising drives, perhaps his Foundation is the cover up for the fact his ‘other business interests’ are not philanthropic, but that they have objectives with specific marketing goals, and are not just the links to helping the community. Self interest both in terms of financial and personal reputation seems more than apparent regardless of his Foundations’ activities. The fact that Shane Warne has aligned himself with donut drives in schools certainly helps to enforce the feeling he is only in it for what he can get out of it. The fact that his Foundation also helps needy children is a bonus, although one may suggest it is more of a bonus for him than for the children. Warnie’s daily blogs on his various websites are indicative of a person who is wealthy, self obsessed, over indulged, and privileged. They emphasise his ‘boof-headedness’ and shallowness, as well as his lack of literacy skills. They also show a life full of selfish pursuits and log his regular poker activities.

What his personal blogs don’t discuss very much are the numerous activities he is involved in that are devoted to raising funds for his Foundation, events such as his Annual Golf Days, the Modern Masters Dinners, the Boxers breakfasts, the Shane Warne Charity Poker nights, the Family Fun days and so on, which would help to improve his image to a wider cross section of the population. That is of course, if he actually cares at all what anyone else thinks. I guess that is the joy of blogging!! I have had to ponder deeply the value of blogging this week, and realise what is out there for the public to view, can easily be used against you as much as it can support you, more often against you though. Regardless of what I think of cricket, or Shane Warne, I think Warnie represents a wonderful version of an Aussie ratbag, doing great things for others, and having a good time doing it, a man getting on with the business of living, in his own unique way.  He reminds me of an Australian summer in the 60’s, one that was not quite so politically correct, one with dirt roads in small towns, lots of bare feet and towels slung over shoulders walking to the jetties dotted along the shores of this wonderful country. The thing I find important to remember, is it is none of my business how he lives his life, and perhaps I should not be passing judgement on anyone else, especially if it is someone I’ve never met!