Family of Shane Warne accept state funeral offer as tributes to former cricketer continue
By George Ramsay, CNN
The family of Australian cricketer Shane Warne has accepted the offer of a state funeral following his death, Victoria state premier Daniel Andrews announced on Sunday.
Warne, widely considered one of the greatest cricketers of all time, died on Friday aged 52 after suffering a suspected heart attack in Thailand.
The sporting world has since paid tribute to Warne, who took 708 test wickets over the course of his distinguished 15-year career.
“I’ve spoken with the Warne family again today and they have accepted my offer of a State Funeral to remember Shane,” Andrews wrote on Twitter.
“It will be an opportunity for Victorians to pay tribute to his contribution to his sport, to our state and the country.
“Details will be finalised in coming days.”
In a separate tweet on Saturday, Andrews also said that the Great Southern Stand at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) will be renamed the S.K. Warne Stand as a “permanent tribute” to the spin bowler, who was brought up in the Melbourne suburb of Black Rock.
Flowers, photos, beer cans and scarves were placed outside the MCG and under a statue a Warne on Saturday.
Meanwhile, a moment of silence was observed and players wore black armbands in memory of Warne and former Australian wicketkeeper Rod Marsh, whose death was also announced this week, during Australia’s Women’s World Cup opener against England.
During the match, leg spinner Alana King twice patted her black armbands after taking the wicket of Tammy Beaumont.
And ahead of the second day of the men’s test between Australia and Pakistan, a moment’s silence was also held in memory of Warne and the victims of the Peshawar bomb attack, which has left at least 61 people dead and 196 injured.
In the crowd, fans paid tributes to Warne with signs that read “long live the king of spin,” “legends never die,” and “the magic will stay forever.”
“We only heard (about Warne’s death) as we were leaving the ground here yesterday,” Australian captain Pat Cummins said ahead of the day’s action.
“We’ve just encouraged everyone to talk about it, to look after each other. Everyone’s worked through it differently. Everyone knew Shane, some people knew him better than others.”
Ricky Ponting, the former Australian test captain, also paid tribute to his former teammate on Saturday, writing on Twitter: “We were teammates for more than a decade, riding all the highs and lows together.
“Through it all he was someone you could always count on, someone who loved his family, someone who would be there for you when you needed him and always put his mates first.
“The greatest bowler I ever played with or against. RIP King.”
The-CNN-Wire
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