Australia bids adieu to Shane Warne at MCG memorial

Australia has given a grand farewell to the late Shane Warne at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) memorial on Wednesday (March 30). Regarded as the greatest leg spinner the game has ever seen, Warne passed away of a suspected heart attack about three weeks ago at 52. 

Although his remains were buried during a private funeral last week, many people, including Hollywood celebrities, gathered at the televised memorial in the iconic MCG today to pay their heartfelt tributes to one of the finest sons of the soil. 

Warne’s father, Keith Warne, got emotional remembering his beloved son and the priceless moments they have shared. He also thanked him for everything he did for his family in his comparatively short life span. 

“Mate, your mother and I can’t imagine a life without you. You have been taken too soon, and our hearts are broken. Thank you for all you did for us”, Keith Warne said. 

The legendary former Australian cricketer Allan Border also spoke about the ‘King’. The former Australia captain admitted that Warne helped him revitalise his captaincy and thanked the leggie for the same.

Similarly, England’s Nasser Hussain threw light on Warne’s sheer competitiveness on the cricket field and termed him ‘a great sledger’ who could empty bars at cricket grounds when he used to bowl. 

Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara, the batters who used to have terrific on-field contests against Warne, vividly remembered their late friend. 

While Lara termed Warne as ‘the greatest Australian he has ever met’, the Indian legend Tendulkar admired the bond he shared with the Australian great by saying he would miss him big time. 

Some musicians were present at the memorial, who offered video tributes to the late Australian cricketer. While the legendary British singer Elton John sang his famous song, “Don’t let the sun go down on me”. The lead singer for ‘Coldplay’, Chris Martin, sang one of the rock group’s hit songs “, yellow”. 

Among the prominent athletes, the 11-times world surfing champion Kelly Slater said in his video tribute that he felt honoured to be called Warne’s friend. 

Warne’s younger brother Jason remembered their sporting rivalries in childhood, apart from these people. One of Warne’s friends, Eddie McGuire, read an inspiring letter that Jason wrote addressing Warne early in his career. 

The letter read, “Now is the time to put everything, and I mean everything, into it and make it work for you. So come on, make some more sacrifices and give people the opportunity in 20 years’ time to say, ‘remember Shane Warne. We’ll never get another leggie like him.” 

Despite being a cricketing genius, Warne was also infamous for some scandalous mischiefs. However, the kind of farewell he received today spoke volumes about how much the masses loved him. We might love or hate him, but we simply can’t deny that we can’t have another Shane Warne, ever again!