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Cricketing legend Shane Wane (Chris Young/PA Wire)
Australia is in a state of "complete shock" after the loss of one of its greatest ever sports stars, with Shane Warne dead at age 52.
Warne died in a Thailand hotel on Friday while on holiday of a suspected heart attack, with his management confirming he was found unresponsive and unable to be revived.
The news came less than 24 hours after the death of fellow Australia cricket legend Rod Marsh, who Warne himself had only just publicly paid tribute to.
Australia's men's Test team had just finished play on day one in Pakistan when the news broke, while the women were set to wake to it as they begin their World Cup in New Zealand on Saturday.
"Hard to fathom," a clearly emotional Pat Cummins said.
"Warnie was an all-time great. A once-in-a-century type cricketer and his records will live on forever
"We all grew up watching Warnie, idolising him. We all had posters on our walls, had his earings.
"We loved so much about Warnie.
"His showmanship, his charisma, his tactics, the way he just willed himself and the team around him to win games for Australia.
"There are so many guys in this team and squad who still have him as a hero and all-time favourite player. The loss we are trying to wrap our head around is huge.
"The game of cricket was never the same after Shane emerged, and it will never be the same now he has gone. Rest in peace King."
Warne was Australia's greatest-ever bowler and arguably the country's second greatest cricketer in history behind Don Bradman.
Named one of the five cricketers of the 20th century by Wisden when he was still midway through his career, Warne owned the field in the way few others have.
A magician with the ball, the legspinner remains Australia's leading wicket-taker and sits second behind Muthiah Muralidaran globally with 708 scalps in 145 Tests.
He played one of the most influential roles in Australia's golden era of cricket, announcing himself with the magic ball that bowled Mike Gatting in 1993 and bowing out with a 5-0 Ashes whitewash at home in 2006-07.
In between times, he bowled Australia to the 1999 World Cup, helping them back from the brink with unforgettable displays in the semi-final and final.
Such was Warne's brilliance, he took a record 96 wickets in the penultimate year of his career.
All up he finished with 1001 international wickets across all formats, earning spots in the ICC, Australian cricket and Australian sport Hall of Fame.
"Shane was one of the most talented and charismatic cricketers we have ever witnessed," Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley said.
"He loved cricket, had an extraordinarily astute understanding of the game and his influence and legacy will last for as long as it is played.
"We are in a state of complete shock at his sudden passing."
Teammate Adam Gilchrist took to social with 12 broken hearts, while the likes of Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar and Michael Vaughan posted their shock and devastation.
"Numb. The highlight of my cricketing career was to keep wicket to Warnie. Best seat in the house to watch the maestro at work," said Gilchrist.
Thai police have since told Reuters that Warne's body had been taken for an autopsy and friends who found him would be spoken with, but added there were no signs of foul play.
SHANE WARNE (September 13, 1969 - March 4, 2022)
* Tests: 145
* Test Wickets: 708 at 25.41
* Test Runs: 3154 at 17.32
* ODIs: 194
* ODI wickets: 293 at 25.73
* ODI runs: 1018 and 13.05
* One of five Wisden Cricketers of 20th century
* Australian Cricket Hall of Fame
* ICC Cricket Hall of Fame
* Sport Australia Hall of Fame
* 1999 World Cup winner
* 1999 World Cup player of the final
© AAP 2022
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Flood-hit communities around NSW are continuing their clean-up efforts, with six deaths now confirmed ahead of more predicted rain.
The most recent fatality was a man believed to be in his 40s whose body was found near Terragon, south of Murwillumbah on Friday afternoon.
About 400 personnel across the NSW Rural Fire Service, Fire & Rescue NSW and the Australian Defence Force will join the clean-up effort.
"The immense scale of the flooding is unprecedented and we are putting equally unprecedented resources into the significant clean-up and long-term recovery effort," Emergency Services and Resilience Minister Steph Cooke said.
Ms Cooke will also soon take on the role of Flood Recovery Minister, Premier Dominic Perrottet announced on Friday.
Concerns have been raised about the depth of the government's preparation, resourcing and response to the disastrous floods, with Mr Perrottet acknowledging on Friday it was likely mistakes were made.
Those will be identified when the government conducts its reviews and the premier has pledged to "resource every level of government to a level that will provide protection to the people of our state".
The SES has begun giving the all clear for evacuated residents to return home after Sydney dodged the bulk of the rain.
Essential Energy said on Friday it had restored power to 37,500 customers in the north of the state, with 13,500 to go.
In western Sydney, Endeavour Energy estimates it will be several days before flood-damaged electricity infrastructure can be assessed after power was turned off at more than 900 low-lying properties along the Hawkesbury, Nepean and Colo Rivers on Thursday.
Cash management providers Prosegur and Armaguard have delivered cash to Casino, Byron Bay and other towns around northern NSW as electronic payment systems were taken out of action and ATMs ran out of notes.
Over the next four days parts of NSW could see up to 100mm of rain and parts of the Hunter up to 150mm with severe thunderstorms, heavy rains and damaging winds forecast, said the BoM.
"We are not past the danger period yet. The rivers are very high, fast-flowing," NSW SES Commissioner Carlene York said.
Further rain over the weekend falling in saturated catchments could cause renewed river rises in areas already devastated by flooding.
Images: NSW SES
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Australian cricket great Rod Marsh is being hailed as among the sport's most influential figures after passing away, aged 74.
Marsh died in an Adelaide hospital after suffering a heart attack in Queensland last week.
"Rod was a colossal figure of Australian cricket," Test captain Pat Cummins said.
"He gave us almost 50 years of incredible service.
"He reinvented the role of the wicketkeeper.
"He was the first Australian wicketkeeper to score a (Test) hundred, he was incredible behind the stumps and a brave, swashbuckling style is what left long-lasting memories."
Marsh suffered a heart attack in Bundaberg, Queensland, last Thursday.
He was transferred in an induced coma to the Royal Adelaide Hospital, in the city he resided, earlier this week.
"He has been an incredible husband, father and grandfather and we have been so fortunate to have had him in all our lives," Marsh's son Paul said in a statement on behalf of his family.
"We are so grateful for all the love and support our family has received from so many people over the last week. It has given us strength in the most difficult week of our lives."
A combative wicketkeeper-batsman, Marsh played 96 Test matches for Australia between 1970 and 1984 and 92 one-day internationals.
On retirement, he held Test cricket's then world record for most wicketkeeping dismissals, 355, and scored three Test centuries in his decorated career.
While Marsh's on-field exploits were legendary, the deep thinker of the game was also renowned worldwide as a coach and talent-spotter.
Marsh headed Australia's cricket academy before filling the same role in England and was the inaugural head of an International Cricket Council world coaching academy in Dubai.
He also served as commentator and became Australia's chairman of selectors in 2014, a position he held for two years.
"This is a tremendously sad day for Australian cricket and for all those who loved and admired Rod Marsh," Cricket Australia's chairman Lachlan Henderson said.
"Rod will be forever remembered for the way he played the game.
"Rod also made an enormous contribution to the game by identifying, coaching and mentoring many future stars in his various roles as coach and director at cricket academies in Australia and other cricket playing nations."
Australia's Test players will wear black arm-bands when the first Test against Pakistan starts later Friday in Rawalpindi, as a mark of respect for Marsh.
Tributes from Australia and around the world have flooded social media on news of the death of Marsh, who became a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1982 and was elected to the Sport Australia Hall Of Fame in 1985 and the Cricket Hall Of Fame in 2005.
"Rod Marsh was more than just a successful wicketkeeper-batsman, he was tactical, spoke without fear and spotted the talents of our Aussie's best," Sport Australia Hall of Fame chairman John Bertrand said.
"Respected by all those he played with and against, Marsh had a wicked sense of humour, loved by teammates, loved by the country."
Marsh leaves his wife Ros and sons Dan, who captained Tasmania to their first Sheffield Shield win, Paul, a former CEO of the Australian Cricketers' Association, and Jamie.
© AAP 2022
Photo: Test cricket player Rod Marsh is seen coaching students from St Peters College in Adelaide on St Peters Oval, Friday November 2, 2018. Rod Marsh is touring the country to promote his new book an autobiography. (AAP Image/David Mariuz)
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Emergency crews in northern NSW are undertaking the painful process of checking thousands of homes for missing people after the regional city of Lismore endured its worst-ever flood crisis.
NSW Fire and Rescue Commissioner Paul Baxter says people need to brace for the prospect of more fatalities, after four people were found dead in the wake of the unprecedented flooding.
As the waters began to subside, two women in their 80s and a man in his 70s were discovered dead in their flooded homes, and the body of another man was found floating in a Lismore street.
Police are still working out how many people are missing and Mr Baxter said "some people just haven't been heard from".
Communications remain difficult in Lismore and many people who are unaccounted for may simply have been unable to make contact.
The next step involves emergency workers going house to house and speaking with locals in hard-hit areas to try to find people who have not made contact since the deluge.
"We are talking literally thousands of homes," Mr Baxter said.
The task ahead was "epic", and now included crews from the State Emergency Service, the Rural Fire Service, Resilience NSW and the Australian Defence Force, he said.
"This is a big disaster and it's over such a widespread area. It's going to be hard work."
Lismore Mayor Steve Krieg said the NSW and federal governments needed to listen to residents, after countless homes and business were ruined as the city was inundated.
"There are plans that have been in place for many, many years to mitigate the flood levels in Lismore," Mr Krieg said on Thursday.
The cafe owner is one of many who returned to a ruined business after the deluge subsided this week, and said the clean-up was a daunting and disgusting task.
"The smell obviously is the worst thing," Mr Krieg told the Nine Network.
"We've got no power, so our coolrooms, our freezers have all been off for three or four days now and the smell is something that really does hit you, but I mean it's just heartbreaking."
He thought he had "done everything right to prepare for this one" but the ceiling of the building had collapsed.
"To know that there's been over 10 feet of water through your place - what do you do?"
He took "half an hour" to take in the devastation of his own business today before putting on a different hat, and becoming the city's mayor again.
"I'm just one of many, many thousands of people and there are hearts broken like mine all over this city."
On Monday intense rain travelling down from southeast Queensland sparked Lismore's record-breaking deluge.
Up to 100 people were trapped on the roofs of their houses waiting hours for help.
On Thursday, the clean-up of the mud-covered city continued as people assessed the damage and counted the losses of homes and businesses.
The devastated town is also facing food shortages - most supermarkets were underwater - as well as petrol shortages.
Residents reported ATMs have run out of cash.
Nearby Ballina, which was hit hard by flooding, also has food and petrol shortages and is banking on freight lines reopening on Thursday.
"Many people today in the Northern Rivers and over the last 24 hours have returned home, and they are returning home to heartbreaking scenes," NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said.
ADF helicopters were being used to drop critical food supplies to evacuation centres and isolated properties.
"The challenge is going to be enormous," Emergency Services Minister Steph Cooke said, pointing to issues around the disposal of piles of household waste.
The road to recovery will be "very, very long".
© AAP 2022
Image: Lismore SES Facebook
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