Shane Warne’s state funeral likely to be held at MCG; crowd of 100,000 expected: Reports

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Victoria premier Daniel Andrews likely to attend.

Shane Warne | Getty Images

Australian spin great Shane Warne will get a state funeral at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), confirmed the Australian government. Warne, perhaps the greatest spinner in the world, passed away unexpectedly at 52 in Thailand on March 4.

Reports suggested that Warne’s state funeral will be held at the iconic MCG in front of an expected crowd of 100,000 to give a fitting farewell to the Australian spin king in the next two to three weeks.

It is also being said that the public memorial will be held after Warne’s family mourn him at a private service. However, Warne’s manager James Erskine hasn’t confirmed the MCG as the venue for the state funeral but hinted that no other stadium would be appropriate to honor the Aussie legend.

Read Also: Autopsy reveals Shane Warne died due to natural causes - Thailand Police

Notably, the MCG was Warne’s favorite ground and the spin great has his own statue at the MCG ground, where he will also have the SK Warne Stand after him.

Erskine told The Age: “But where else?

Meanwhile, another Australian newspaper, The Herald Sun, stated that the state funeral is likely to be held within two or three weeks, and that it would overlap with the Australian Rules Football League (AFL) season, but that the MCG "will make all necessary arrangements to accommodate the service."

Whereas The Age revealed that Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews wanted to attend the state funeral and were working to find a suitable date with Warne’s family for the state funeral.

A date has not been fixed for the state funeral, as Warne’s family waits for his body to be returned to Melbourne following his sudden death from a suspected heart attack in Thailand on March 4.

(With PTI Inputs)

 
 

By Rashmi Nanda - 08 Mar, 2022

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