Thousands attend Melbourne Cricket Stadium in memory of Shane Warren

A memorial service was held at the Melbourne Cricket Stadium in memory of former Australian legend League spinner Shane Warren, where thousa...

A memorial service was held at the Melbourne Cricket Stadium in memory of former Australian legend League spinner Shane Warren, where thousands gathered to pay tribute to one of the world greatest cricketers.

 

Don Bradman granddaughter Greta Bradman sings the Australian national anthem at a ceremony in Shane Warren's memory. — Photo: AFP

According to Reuters, Australian player Shane Warren, whose talent and personality was beyond cricket, died of a heart attack about three weeks ago at the age of 52 during a holiday in Thailand.

Shane Warren's last rites were performed in Melbourne last week in the presence of family and close friends, but many were invited to today's televised memorial service where his father, Keith Warren, a loved one. And the caregiver mourned the loss of his son, and his former comrades remembered one of his fiercest and most mischievous rivals.

 

Also read: Cricket legend Shane Warren dies

In his condolence message, Keith Warren addressed his late son, saying, “Friend! Your mother and I can't imagine life without you. You are gone so soon and our hearts are broken. Thank you for everything you have done for us. "

Shane Warren is arguably Australia most respected cricketer after Don Bradman, considered one of the best league spinners in the sport.

Don Bradman granddaughter Greta Bradman sang the Australian national anthem at a ceremony in Shane Warren memory.

Read more: Gavaskar refuses to consider Shane Warren as the greatest spinner

Shane Warren younger brother, Jason Warren, remembers his childhood fights with his brother in games and board games.

West Indies batting legend Brian Lara said that Shane Warren was the greatest Australian player, Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar said that he will remember Shane Warren for a long time.

Many players, Hollywood actors and musicians also paid tribute to Shane Warren through video messages who created glamor in Test cricket and was also a big fan of rock music.

Also read: Shane Warren death was natural, Thai police confirm

British artist Elton John sang his 1974 classic "Don't Let the Song Go Down on Me" while Cold Play frontman Chris Martin sang the rock group's 2000 hit "Yellow".

Before the commencement of the Shane Warren Memorial Ceremony at Melbourne Cricket Stadium, participants entered the stadium, stood in front of a statue of Shane Warren erected outside the stadium, and took pictures of flowers, beer cans and packets of cigarettes that marked his death. After that people were left there.
Shane Warren's cricket career

League spinner Shane Warren took 708 wickets in 145 Test matches during his career, spanning 15 years.

Great League spinner Shane Warren made his international cricket debut for Australia against India on 2 January 1992 in Sydney.

His illustrious one-day cricket career began on March 24, 1993 against New Zealand in Wellington.

The world-famous league spinner's real fame came in the 1993 Ashes series Manchester Test over a ball to Mike Gatting, also dubbed the 'Ball of the Century', the first to be bowled on English soil.

 

Also read: Shane Warren Journey from 'Spin Wizard' to 'Playboy'

Shane Warren had the honor of taking 700 wickets in Test cricket in the fourth Test match of the 2006 Ashes series in Melbourne by bowling a fine league spin ball and scattering the wickets of English opener Andrew Strauss.

The second most successful bowler in the history of Test cricket took 708 wickets in 145 Test matches.

In ODI cricket, he represented Australia in 194 matches and took 293 wickets.

 

Read more: Cricket community mourns Shane Warren's death

Shane Warren also played his last Test match at the Sydney Cricket Ground where his opponent was England. In the match which lasted from 2 January to 5 January 2007, he took 2 wickets and also played a memorable innings of 71 runs.

He played his last ODI for the World XI against Asia XI on January 10, 2005, in which his team won and took 2 wickets.

Shane Warren played T20 cricket in the Indian Premier League (IPL) before retiring from all forms of cricket in 2013, but continued to play cricket.