The final journey of Shane Warne, the Australian cricket great, has begun.
His coffin, draped in an Australian flag and placed at the Thai Police Forensic Institute was taken to an ambulance. It was then driven to an international airport. According to local media, Warne’s body would be flown back home to Melbourne, Australia by a private plane.
Warne was widely considered one of the greatest bowlers of all-time. He died while on holiday with friends at Samui Island, south Thailand. According to an autopsy, Warne, 52 years old, died from a heart attack.
After the family’s private funeral, the Victoria state government plans to hold a memorial service at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on March 30, for Warne.
On Wednesday, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews wrote on social media that “There’s no place in the world more fitting to say goodbye Warnie than the G”.
The MCG hosted Warne’s Ashes hat-trick in 1994, and his 700th Test wicket on Boxing Day 2006, his last series before he retired from international cricket. He was born in Melbourne and raised there.
Warne’s family released a statement late Monday, describing his March 4 death as “a never-ending nightmare” and the beginning of “a never ending nightmare”.
