With Australia and the sporting world still reeling from the news of Shane Warne’s sudden death on Friday, his family has accepted a state funeral for the cricket legend.
The friends Warne was holidaying with in Thailand have accompanied his body to Surat Thani Hospital – 650 kilometres south of Bangkok – where an autopsy will help determine the cause of the 52-year-old’s sudden death.
Warne’s body will then be brought back to Australia before a state funeral, likely to be held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said on Twitter on Sunday that Warne’s family had agreed to the public farewell in the city that most adored him.
Mr Andrews said the service would be a chance to pay tribute to Warne’s contributions to cricket, state and country. Details of the service will be released in coming days.
The MCG could be one potential venue option. It is the ground where Warne tore apart the West Indies in 1992 to announce himself on home soil, took his Test hat-trick and 700th wicket.
Tweet from @DanielAndrewsMP
Warne’s family is said to have been “shattered” by the cricketing great’s sudden death, according to his long-time manager James Erskine.
Mr Erskine told the Nine Network that Warne’s three children Jackson, Summer and Brooke were “in a complete shock” at the sudden passing of their father.
“I spoke to them yesterday and … Jackson just said, ‘We expect him to walk in the door. This is like a bad dream’,” Mr Erskine said.
“Keith, Shane’s father, is a pretty strong individual, but like everybody, he’s just shattered. They can’t believe what’s happened.”
Australia’s players in Pakistan continued to wear a black armband, with the memory of Warne hovering over both them and the women’s team in New Zealand.
The Pakistan tour and women’s World Cup will mean the majority of Australia’s players won’t be able to attend the funeral.
Thai police have also revealed that Warne had suffered chest pains before arriving in the country and that he had asthma.
He was found unresponsive inside the Samujana Villas.
It’s been revealed his friends gave Warne CPR while waiting for an ambulance to arrive. The cricketer could not be saved.
