Family, friends and fans pay tribute to Tony Greig in memorial service at SCG

TONY Greig's great mate and Channel 9 commentary partner Bill Lawry held court for 20 minutes at the SCG in a rousing tribute.

Malcolm Conn

3 min read

January 20, 2013 - 1:30PM

News Corp Australia Network

FOR two hours, the Sydney Cricket Ground became a cathedral as the cricket world said one last goodbye to Tony Greig.

The 500 invited family and friends who gathered in the members' stand for a memorial service spanned the eras and the globe.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard arrived quietly to be met by Channel 9 chief executive David Gyngell, reinforcing just how central Greig had been to cricket and its coverage over four decades as a player, commentator and provocateur of change.

Tony Greig's life in pictures

Michael Clarke pays tribute

Adam Gilchrist's video tribute

"Summer will never be quite the same again," she posted on Twitter after the service. Australia's players and officials were at the ground early for the one-day match against Sri Lanka, highlighting the strength of the relationship captain Michael Clarke developed with a man he regarded as a mentor.

Injured vice-captain Shane Watson and the retired Brett Lee were among the gathering.

A delegation of Sri Lankans attended to pay their respects to Greig, who did so much to promote cricket in their country.

Ian Botham flew in from England, arriving just hours before the service to farewell his first Test captain, before flying out again today.

"It's very, very sad and far too soon," Botham said in a pre-recorded tribute with another former England captain, David Gower.

Ian Botham

One of just two surviving 1948 Invincibles, Neil Harvey sat with current Cricket Australia chairman Wally Edwards and his predecessor Jack Clarke. Former Indian fast bowler-turned-match referee Javagal Srinath found a seat towards the back.

MC Mark Nicholas read tributes from former Sri Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga and former Indian skipper Ravi Shastri.

And there were the past cricket legends who make up the Nine commentary team.

Greig died of a heart attack late last month aged 66 after being diagnosed with lung cancer in October.

He did not join the Channel 9 commentary team this summer.

Bill Lawry, Greig's "sporing portner" as The 12th Man Billy Birmingham would have said, held court for 20 minutes, lamenting that Birmingham was not part of the tribute.

Greig loved The 12th Man and would play it in his car but Lawry was not quite so sure what his first Test captain, Richie Benaud, thought of Birmingham's parodies of the commentary team.

Lawry also paid tribute to Greig for his central role in World Series Cricket with Kerry Packer.

"If it wasn't for Tony and Kerry Packer, who changed the game forever, it wouldn't be in the strong position it is today," Lawry said.

Imposing as Greig was as a cricketer and later commentator, Lawry will always have the fondest memories of his friend of 33 years as a family man.

"When you see his four children I think it says it all," Lawry said. "They are just wonderful people and I'm sure his grandchildren will be exactly the same. The thing I will miss most about the Sydney Test will be going out to Tony Greig's place."

His wife Vivian revealed it had been 17 years to the day they had first met at the SCG, bringing back strong memories. She recounted that at the age of 12 Greig was involved in a truck accident which left him with epilepsy, an illness he battled every day for the remainder of his life.

"Tony believed that you had to have hurdles in life and that epilepsy was his hurdle to overcome," she said. "It made him stronger."

Bill Lawry

Despite medication making him lethargic, Greig was always looking for new challenges, whether it was ultra-light aircraft, racing cars, hunting or big-game fishing.

"He lived life without limitation," Vivian said.

Holding back tears, she ended with a personal tribute.