Lauren Phillips breaks down on air as she interviews Shaun Graf about Shane Warne’s death

Lauren Phillips has broken down in tears as she recalled her close relationship with Shane Warne, who died on Friday of a suspected heart attack at age 52.

Hosting her radio show on Melbourne’s KIIS 101.1 on Monday, Phillips interviewed her stepfather, Cricket Victoria General Manager Shaun Graf, who was a good friend of Shane’s for decades, and gave the legend his start in cricket.

Lauren began: ‘I’ve been lucky enough to be friends with Warnie for the past 15 years. He was a great bloke. I loved him. I had a lot of fun with him along the way. But my family have a much deeper connection.

‘My stepdad, he and Shane go back 35 years. He was his coach when he joined St Kilda cricket club when he was 18 years old. They went through a lot of life’s ups and downs together. The two of them were great, great mates,’ she continued.

Lauren then asked her legendary cricketer stepfather to share his fond memories of his good friend Warnie.

‘As a young fella, he had blond locks, and he was larger than life. We got word that he was a handy little cricketer so we invited him down,’ Graf said.

‘He used to drive into the Junction Oval in his white Nissan Vector. He had big mag wheels on it. He also had a tape deck and a graphic equaliser that was worth more than the car. It used to be loud, just like him, and all his life he’s been like this.’

Graf went on to say that Shane enjoyed a colourful life whether he was on the pitch or not.

‘He loved to play hard, on and off the field. He certainly loved to party. He enjoyed having a punt back in the old days as well. All the traits he had in his 50s, he had when he was 18 as well, it’s just he had a hell of a lot more money to spend,’ he said.

Warne was sent to play with Imperial Cricket Club in Bristol, England one summer in the 1980s, and Graf says he came back a changed man.

‘I think he had a lot of pints and lived the high life because he came back about 20 kilos bigger,’ he laughed, adding that other players compared Warne to Hulk Hogan.

Graf went on to say that feels the true ‘Shane Warne’ was never more apparent than when he was in the locker room with his teammates.

‘He always put up a bit of a shield when he was in public. But in the changeroom, he was Shane Warne the larrikin.

‘That was the place he loved most, that was the place he was safe, and he would tell us some stories. That is one of the things that I am going to miss most,’ he said.

The first-class cricketer went on to discuss how much Warnie adored his family – Warne had three children, daughter Brooke, 24, son Jackson, 22, and daughter Summer, 21, all of whom he shared with his ex-wife of 10 years Simone Callahan.

‘I know how much he loved his kids. Being away, being a professional cricketer, is difficult. You’re travelling all the time. You’re away from your family,’ he said.

‘And I know towards the end of his career, he just wanted to get back and get to know his kids. He was so happy and so proud of them as well, and it’s just unfortunate that he’s left them so early.’

Following the interview, Lauren broke down in tears as she revealed she was thinking of Shane’s family.

‘It’s been a really hard weekend for my family but none more so than the Warnes. To  Brooke, Jackson, Summer and Simone, we are thinking of you, and it is so unfair that he has left this world so young – 52 is far too young,’ she said through sobs.

‘He was unapologetically a quintessential Aussie bloke, and we are going to miss him,’ the radio host added, her voice breaking.

Shane was found dead on Friday evening while on holiday at the luxury Samujana Villas resort in Koh Samui, Thailand.

Four friends staying with the athlete battled to save his life for 20 minutes, police have said.

The Australian cricketer turned pundit and businessman, and the greatest leg spinner in history, was found unconscious in a villa in the resort.

Thai police said that Warne was staying in the villa with four friends, and when one of the group tried to wake Shane for food at around 5pm local time today he was found to be unresponsive.

Shane’s manager separately confirmed his death, saying that the father-of-three could not be revived.

Warne became a global star in 1993 by bowling out Mike Gatting with the so-called ‘Ball of the Century’ – his first ball in Ashes cricket.

He went on to get 708 test wickets, tormenting teams all over the world, especially Australia’s great rival England.   

Warne’s family will hold a private funeral to say goodbye before a state service is held in front of up to 100,000 people at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Close friends and family of the late cricketer will gather in Melbourne after the 52-year-old’s body is returned to Australia from Thailand.

Plans are still being finalised for a public memorial due to be held later this month.