Sports and entertainment stars, as well as over 50,000 spectators, will gather at the MCG on Wednesday to pay respect to great cricketer Shane Warne at his state memorial.

Warne died on March 4, 2012, at the age of 52, from natural causes after suffering a suspected heart attack while vacationing in Koh Samui, Thailand.

Musicians Elton John, Ed Sheeran, and Chris Martin are sending video tributes for the state burial, while former England captain Nasser Hussain has travelled to Melbourne to pay his respects in person alongside West Indies legend Brian Lara and former Pakistan spinner Wasim Akram.

“It was only a month or so ago we were chatting to him on The Cricket Show and he was his usual larger than life self,” Hussain said. “He was so happy, so professional and was chatting with Rob Key and I and we were having a laugh. It’s amazing how life gets you really.

I’m working on the Women’s World Cup in New Zealand and I thought I would regret it if I didn’t make the three-hour trip over to be here for arguably the greatest cricketer, a friend, and a friend of Sky Sports.

“Some of our team can’t be here. Ian Ward was so close to Warney, Rob Key was so close to Warney, as were Bumble, Ath [Michael Atherton], Mikey [Michael Holding]. I just feel honoured that I’m here.

“It’s an honour they’ve asked me to go on a stage to talk about him. For me, he’s absolutely the best cricketer I’ve ever seen and a great friend over the past decade.”

‘People would sit up and watch Warne.’
With 708 wickets in 145 Test matches for Australia, Warne is the second-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket history, and Hussain believes the leg-spinner will always be recognised as a legend of the game.

“What a character, what a cricketer, and possibly – in my opinion – the best cricketer who has ever played the game,” Hussain continued. “He worked with us at Sky Sports in the cricket department, and we were often telling him how terrific he was.”

“Some people are gifted, such as Muttiah Muralitharan and Brian Lara. Some people can overachieve and be extremely competitive, while others can reason their way through a spell or innings. Shane Warne could perform all three and was quite competitive.

“When Australia was losing the plot against Michael Vaughan’s England in the 2005 Ashes, who was the man getting runs and wickets? It had to be Warne. When England scored 550 in Adelaide under Andrew Flintoff’s captaincy in 2006, who bowled England out on the final day to win that Test? It had to be Warne.

“Warne just ticked every box and he was just an outstanding cricketer. The other thing is cricket is entertainment, and he was such an entertaining cricketer. People used to sit up and watch when Shane Warne was bowling.”

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