Shane Warne died of a suspected heart attack while on holiday in Koh Samui, Thailand, on March 4, aged 52; a private funeral service was held for the Australia cricketing great in Melbourne on Sunday; a state funeral will be held on March 30
Sunday 20 March 2022 11:18, UK
Shane Warne's three children Brooke, Jackson and Summer led the private funeral service for the Australia cricketing great in Melbourne on Sunday.
The invite-only event was attended by around 100 family and friends, including former England captain Michael Vaughan, ex-Australia captains Michael Clarke, Mark Taylor and Allan Border.
Warne was an avid Australian Football League (AFL) supporter and a huge fan of team St Kilda, with the service held at the team's home ground.
Television presenter Eddie McGuire, who anchors AFL show Fox Footy, hosted the service, which was also attended by former AFL greats.
McGuire described Warne as "Superman" and in quotes reported by the Daily Mail added: "You threw the ball to Warne, you sat in that (Melbourne Cricket Ground) Southern Stand and he did the things you dreamt of doing as a kid.
"The magic part about Shane Warne was that he sprinkled his gold dust everywhere he went."
Former AFL player Sam Newman also paid tribute along with entertainer Glenn Robbins, who Warne worked alongside on comedy show Kath and Kim.
A lap of honour was carried out there before the service.
Warne's former girlfriend, British actress Liz Hurley, was unable to attend the funeral due to work commitments.
Hurley, 56, said on Instagram: "My heart aches that I can't be in Australia for Shane's funeral. I was filming and, with the time jump, physically can't get there. It still hasn't really sunk in that he's gone."
Around 50,000 cricket fans are expected to fill the MCG on March 30 for Warne's state memorial.
Tickets for the event are expected to be made available to the public in the coming days.
It has been reported that Sir Elton John will perform live via video link for the state funeral and that other video tributes will include performances from Ed Sheeran and Coldplay's Chris Martin.
Warne shot to global fame with the 'ball of the century' to bamboozle and dismiss Mike Gatting in the 1993 Ashes series against England.
He went on to claim 708 Test wickets, the second-highest in history, in a 15-year career spanning 145 matches and also took 293 one-day international wickets, helping Australia win the 1999 World Cup.
