Country will come together to honour Shane Warne
Shane Warne’s MCG state memorial is set to become a national affair, with other state cricket associations to join in the spin king’s farewell.
Shane Warne’s MCG state memorial is set to become a truly national affair, after other state cricket associations indicated they would join in the spin king’s final farewell celebrations.
Adelaide Oval has confirmed it plans to join the Sydney Cricket Ground in telecasting Warne’s state memorial on March 30, while the Gabba, Optus Stadium and Blundstone Arena are all also locking in their plans.
The decision to telecast the funeral was made on Friday after representatives from the Victorian state government, Cricket Australia, the MCG and Warne’s family met at the Melbourne Cricket Ground to discuss logistical arrangements.
Warne died in a luxury holiday villa on the Thai resort island of Koh Samui from a suspected heart attack a week ago and was repatriated to Australia in a charter flight that landed in Melbourne late on Thursday night.
His casket, draped in an Australian flag, was accompanied home by his business manager Andrew Neophitou and two close friends and was met by members of Warne’s family, including children Brooke and Jackson and ex-wife Simone Callahan.
Warne’s mother Bridgette held a single white flower as her son’s casket was taken from the airline hangar.
Organisers anticipate a full house for his state funeral at the 100,000-capacity MCG though Warne’s brother Jason told The Weekend Australian his family had not yet begun to work through the list of international cricketers and other friends who might attend.
“That is something we will get to next week,” he said.
Test star David Warner has promised to be home in time for the memorial, and British music celebrity friends Ed Sheeran and Cold Play’s Chris Martin have also expressed a desire to attend.
It is not known if British actor and former fiancee Elizabeth Hurley will attend.
Though Warne was loved for his larrikinism as much as his spin bowling in cricket-mad India, few if any of his Indian cricket friends – including former fellow Rajasthan Royals IPL teammates – are likely to make it given the dearth of international flights due to the pandemic, says former Indian batsman, national team coach and commentator Ravi Shastri.
“He was massive in India. His death has been on the front page of every newspaper here and I don’t think any other cricketer could have got that kind of coverage,” Shastri told The Weekend Australian. “Indians loved him because he was outspoken but above all because he was a brilliant cricketer.”
How Warne died is less important than the fact he did so far earlier than many Australians were prepared to lose such a singular sporting hero, though his well-known vices have become a focus since his suspected fatal heart attack.
He had suffered two bouts of Covid in the past eight months, his first infection more severe than the second, and was a lifelong smoker and yo-yo dieter.
He had just finished a two-week liquid diet before landing in Thailand on the evening of Thursday March 3 and was smoking when he hit his favourite tailor shop the next day.
He wanted to lose pounds gained during a punishing cricket commentating schedule.
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