‘I will never delete it’ – Adam Gilchrist reveals the last conversation he had with Shane Warne

Legendary spinner Shane Warne died on March 4 in Thailand. He was there for a holiday with his friends. It was later reported that he died of natural causes. His tragic demise shocked the entire cricketing fraternity.

Thus, several cricketers went on to give their tributes and condolence messages for the legendary spinner. As Warne was close to many Australian cricketers, they struggled to come to terms with the tragic news. Adam Gilchrist recently spoke about how he received a text message from the Australian great just eight hours before the legend’s death.

“I spoke to Shane about a week ago. I received a really nice text from him. Probably, I am assuming this was eight hours before he passed away. He was just sending me a message. He was one of the few guys that consistently called me church,” Adam Gilchrist told ABC News.

The 50-year-old drew light on his nickname and why Warne use to call him that. He stated that an English fan once called him ‘Eric Gilchurch’. “It’s a nickname only those in the inner circle knew about – about being confused by a young English fan and they called me ‘Eric Gilchurch’. He always called me ‘Churchy’ and it always felt like a term of endearment from a friend,” he said.

It is to be noted that Australian legend Rod Marsh had also passed away on the same day as Warne. Gilchrist spoke about how the legendary leggie had texted him to appreciate his tribute to Marsh, which turned out to be the last conversation between him as the veteran.

“He (Warne) messaged me saying, ‘Church, wonderful tribute to Rod Marsh’. Which I was very honoured to do a voice-over. We were not even close to coming to terms with the passing of my childhood hero in Rod Marsh and another legend of the cricket world. Warnie just messaged me and said ‘well done on that sir’. So that was the last contact. It’s a text message I will never delete,” he added.