Melbourne, Australia’s legendary spin bowler Shane Warne, who witnessed some great moments in his playing career, will be given a public farewell on March 30 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). Victoria State Prime Minister Daniel Andrews confirmed on Wednesday that a state event will be held at the MCG in Warne’s honor.
Warne had reportedly died of a heart attack in Thailand last week. He was 52 years old. Warne’s family announced that they would perform the last rites in private before that. “There is no better place in the world to bid farewell to Warney (Shane Warne) than at the MCG,” Andrews tweeted on Wednesday.
It was at the MCG that Warne scored a hat-trick in the 1994 Ashes and took his 700th Test wicket at the same ground in 2006 during the Boxing Day Test of his last international series. Warne was born in Melbourne and grew up here. The post-mortem results confirmed that Warne died of natural causes and showed no signs of suspicion.
Warner’s body was taken to Surat Thani on Sunday after he died on Friday in Koh Samui, Thailand. His body reached the capital Bangkok on Sunday night from Surat Thani, from where preparations are being made to send it to Australia. Warne’s family issued a statement on Monday calling the night of March 4 the beginning of a “never-ending nightmare”.