‘Always with us, Dad’: Warnie’s kids visit MCG shrine

Shane Warne’s devastated children and ex-wife have visited the MCG statue that has become a memorial to the cricketer since his shock death.

Shane Warne’s three grieving children and their mum have made an emotional visit to the makeshift memorial outside the MCG.

Jackson Warne, 23, posted an image of himself near the statue of his father, who died suddenly of a heart attack on March 4.

A large pile of cards, flowers, gifts an tributes have been left at the statue of Warne since his shock death in Thailand.

Jackson posted a love heart as the caption to the picture that quickly attracted thousands of likes and comments.

It’s not the first touching tribute Jackson has posted about his famous dad.

“To my brother, my best friend, to my Dad, I love you so much. I don’t think anything is ever going to fill the void you have left in my heart. Sitting at the poker table, walking around the golf course, watching the Saints and eating pizza is never going to be the same but I know all you ever wanted for me is to be happy, no matter what,” he captioned a black and white picture of the pair last week.

Brooke, Warne , Jackson Warne , Simone Callahan and Summer Warne visit the Shane Warne statue at the MCG in a photo posted on Summer Warne's Instagram.

Summer Warne posted a picture on Instagram of herself, sister Brooke and Jackson and their mum Simone Callahan with the caption: “Always with us Dad.”

Jackson arrived at Essendon Airport last week in the cricketer’s Mercedes-Benz G Wagon when a private jet carrying Warne’s body arrived back in Melbourne.

A close friend of Warne’s, boxing legend Jeff Fenech, this week said Jackson was ready to step up and take care of the family.

“I spoke to Jackson yesterday. To hear him talk, the maturity of him and the way he spoke, he told me he was now going to look after their family just as his dad would have,” Fenech told the Herald Sun.

Jackson Warne visits his late father Shane Warne statue at the MCG.

“He has taken the reins of that family and what a beautiful young person he is,” he said.

Meanwhile, tributes continue from others who knew Warne well.

Speaking in this week's issue of New Idea, Mike Whitney, 63, recalled when he first met Warne, describing him as “tubby, had a mullet, ate baked beans and smoked cigarettes”.

The pair were roommates during a tour of Sri Lanka in 1992, and he was amused by the legend’s quirks, such as finding an Italian restaurant in the city of Colombo and eating “spaghetti carbonara there every night” instead of the local dishes on offer.

Former Australian fast bowler Mike Whitney. Picture: AAP

Whitney also recounted a night out with Warne and cricket legends Sir Ian Botham, Sir Richard Hadlee and Sir Viv Richards, at Shane‘s nightclub in Melbourne’s Crown Casino in 2010.

“He handed everybody a $160 drink voucher and a $500 cup worth of chips to gamble at the tables. I have wonderful memories of standing there with Beefy [lan Botham], Shane and Viv – The King – until the early hours of the morning talking the sh*t that ex-cricketers talk,” he said.

“I said, ‘Warnie, Liz Hurley?’ and he just went ‘Yeah’ and laughed. That was just Shane,” he said.

Shane Warne and Liz Hurley. Picture: AFP

Warne and Hurley enjoyed a romance from 2010 to 2013 and were at one stage engaged.

“I will miss that he never changed. A lot of people forget, but Shane never forgot where he came from,” Whitney said.

The spin king was found dead of a heart attack at his Koh Samui villa in Thailand last week, while he was holidaying with his friends.

He is survived by his three children, daughter Brooke, 24, son Jackson, 23, and daughter Summer, 20, who he shared with ex-wife Simone Callahan, 51.

A private memorial is expected to be held on March 20. A state funeral will be held on March 30 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, with as many of Warne‘s fans as possible to be allowed to attend.

CALLS TO HAVE SHANE WARNE KNIGHTED

An online petition is calling on an amendment to the constitution to allow cricketing legend, Shane Warne to be posthumously honoured with the title of knighthood.

The Change.org petition was created by David Tieck three years ago but has been reignited with interest since the sudden passing of the beloved Australian cricketer.

So far, the petition has just 372 signatures, but the campaign has the support of a few big names.

Former Good Morning Britain host, Piers Morgan has come out in support of the push to knight Shane Warne, citing his services to cricket and charity.

Shane Warne was the only one of Wisden’s 5 greatest cricketers of 20th Century not to be knighted. He wasn’t Mother Teresa but if Gavin bloody Williamson can get a gong then so should Warnie, posthumously, for services to cricket & charity. Make it happen @BorisJohnson #SirShane pic.twitter.com/gZbW7u3N1D

— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) March 5, 2022

There is just one thing standing in the way of bestowing the honour – the Constitution dictates that knighthoods can only be awarded to the living.

Shane Warne himself had toyed with the idea of knighthood in his column in London’s Daily Telegraph.

“I’m not quite sure what the future holds but I do note that the other four men who were chosen in Wisden’s Five Cricketers Of The Century are all Sirs,” Warne wrote.

“Perhaps my knighthood has been lost in the post”.

Shane Warne 🤣

He really didn't rate Paul Collingwood did he 🤣

This is gold pic.twitter.com/4U8ZALjjcA

— Rob Moody (@robelinda2) March 12, 2022

The petition has appealed on Queen Elizabeth, Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison and leader of the Opposition, Anthony Albanese to move swiftly to amend the Constitution.