Cricketer Warne engaged to actress Hurley

Shane Warne and Elizabeth Hurley watch the action during the third round of The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

London (CNN) -- Australian cricket legend Shane Warne and actress Elizabeth Hurley are engaged, it was confirmed on Sunday.

The couple confirmed the news on their Twitter pages, with both saying: "Thanks for all your congratulations." They also linked to a picture of themselves about to go to dinner in St. Andrews, Scotland, where Warne is playing in a golf championship.

Warne, 42, proposed to Hurley, 46, on Friday, the organizers of the tournament said in a statement. The couple later celebrated with guests in St. Andrews' Old Course Hotel.

Hurley's four-year marriage to businessman Arun Nayar ended in divorce in June. Hurley has a son from an earlier relationship.

The actress rose to fame in the 1990s as the girlfriend of actor Hugh Grant, attracting attention in 1994 when she wore a Versace dress held together with safety pins. She has starred in films including " Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery" and "Bedazzled."

Warne is widely regarded as one of the finest bowlers of all time having taken 708 wickets in the long form of the game. He retired from Test cricket in 2007 after playing 145 matches, prompting his captain Ricky Ponting to call it "the end of an era" for Australian cricket.

He announced his separation from his wife Simone in 2005. The couple, who have three children, divorced shortly afterwards.

According to the cricket website CricInfo, Warne's story was "part fairytale, part pantomime, part hospital drama, part adults-only romp, part glittering awards ceremony."

"He took a Test hat-trick, won the Man-of-the-Match prize in a World Cup final and was the subject of seven books. He was the first cricketer to reach 700 Test wickets. He swatted more runs than any other Test player without making a hundred, and was probably the wiliest captain Australia never had.

"His ball that gazoodled Mike Gatting in 1993, bouncing outside leg stump and cuffing off, is unanimously esteemed the most famous in history. He revived legspin, thought to be extinct, and is now pre-eminent in a game so transformed that we sometimes wonder where the next champion fast bowlers will come from."

[Source : edition.cnn.com]