Aussie legend Shane Warne ’s body was back in Oz tonight.
The cricket hero’s coffin landed in Melbourne on a private flight after being flown in from Thailand where he died.
Draped in the Australian flag it was then transported for storage before a private ceremony for devastated family members and a state funeral for a grieving nation later this month.
Warne, 52, died suddenly last Friday, just three days into a planned three-month break with friends on the sun-kissed island of Koh Samui in Thailand.
The dad-of-three was found in his room at the luxury Samujana Villas resort in the early evening.
An autopsy later revealed he died of natural causes from a suspected heart attack.
Two Thai masseuse have since been quizzed after giving Warne a rub-down just before he died - with a third later raising the alarm when getting no answer knocking on his bedroom door for a pre-arranged pedicure.
The iconic leg-spinner is set to be given a grand send-off on March 30th at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), with as many of Warne’s fans as possible to be allowed to attend.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews explained: “There’s nowhere in the world more appropriate to farewell Warnie than the MCG.
“There will be no limits on crowds and that sort of stuff. It will be a very big event, it will be a celebration of his life as it should be.”
Earlier this week haunting CCTV footage emerged of Warne calmly walking back to his villa just hours before he died of a sudden heart attack.
A seemingly relaxed Warne was seen holding several shirts following a visit to his favourite tailor and he was wearing shorts, a cap and holding his mobile phone.
Last weekend Warne’s manager James Erskine revealed the cricketer had recently come off a “ridiculous” fluid-only diet, adding: “He obviously smoked most of his life. I don’t know. I think it was just a massive heart attack.”
But yesterday Warne’s former doctor Dr Peter Brukner told Perth radio that the star’s tragic death was hastened by his wild lifestyle, drinking, love of food and smoking.
He said: “Warney, if he had heart disease, which sounds like he did, you know, that didn’t happen overnight in Thailand. It’s been happening for 20, 30 years from smoking, poor diet, etc, etc.”
The doctor implored those in their middle age to find a GP that they’re “comfortable talking to” and to get a check-up and blood test annually.
He added: “Once a year [for a checkup] from the age of 35, 40 onwards. The issue with these things is you don’t develop heart disease in a minute. It’s a very gradual process.”
