Former England captain Nasser Hussain has delivered a touching tribute to Shane Warne ahead of his state funeral on Wednesday.
Warne tragically passed away earlier this month at the age of just 52 after suffering a heart attack while on holiday in Koh Samui, Thailand. Hussain will be in attendance for Warne's memorial service at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, having made the trip over from New Zealand where he has been working on the Women's Cricket World Cup.
Speaking ahead of the memorial, Hussain lauded Warne as a "genius" and said he felt "honoured" to have been asked to go on stage and speak about him during the service. "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 told Sky Sports.
"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.
"Some people have genius, the likes of Muttiah Muralitharan and Brian Lara. Some people can get the best of themselves and be hugely competitive, then some people can think their way through a spell or innings. Shane Warne could do all three things and was so competitive.
"In the 2005 Ashes, when Australia were losing the plot against Michael Vaughan's England, who was the man getting runs and getting wickets? It was Warne. In 2006, when England got 550 in Adelaide under Andrew Flintoff's captaincy, who was the man bowling England out on the last day to win that Test? It was 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."
