Great Southern Stand at the Melbourne Cricket Ground has paid big tribute to the legendary spin bowler Shane Warne, it said that the Great Southern Stand will be renamed the SK Warne stand.
On Friday, Warne died unexpectedly while on vacation in Thailand, prompting a worldwide outpouring of tributes and sadness.
Melburnians gathered around Warne’s statue outside the Members’ at the MCG on a grey dreary Saturday in Melbourne, not unlike the one on which he claimed his 700th Test wicket in front of adoring fans in the Southern Stand at the MCG on Boxing Day 2006, to lay flowers, cricket balls, beers, pies, and cigarettes as a tribute to Warne.
Shane Warne Will be Missed Millions of his Fans
Martin Pakula, Victoria’s minister for tourism and sport, said that he had spoken with Victoria premier Daniel Andrews, MCC Trust chairman Steve Bracks, and MCC CEO Stuart Fox, and that they had decided to rename the Southern Stand in Shane Warne‘s honour.
“The Great Southern Stand will be renamed the S.K. Warne Stand as soon as we possibly can,” Pakula added. “I can’t think of a better way to honour the greatest cricketer this state has ever produced than to rename the stand the S.K. Warne stand, and no matter what happens to it in the future, whether it’s rebuilt, refurbished, or renovated, it will always be known as the S.K. Warne stand because his legend will live on.”
Premier Andrews and Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison have also reached out to the Warne family to offer a state funeral, but the family has been given time to decide.
Dr Lachlan Henderson, the chairman of Cricket Australia, revealed that he had spoken to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull about Warne on Saturday and that renaming the Southern Stand at the MCG was a worthy tribute.
“That seems like a really fitting tribute to Shane Warne,” Henderson added. “He’s been a legend in the game for many years, most notably with the St Kilda Cricket Club in Victoria, Australia’s national team. He also travelled the world playing cricket. As a result, it’s a worthy homage.
Mewanwhile, the Australia women’s team wore two black armbands in memory of Warne, and Rod Marsh, who also passed away Friday, and observed a minute’s silence ahead of their Women’s World Cup opener against England in New Zealand. England also wore a black armband in tribute to both men.
Henderson confirmed that Australia’s men’s team, who wore a black armband and observed a minute’s silence ahead of day one of the first Test with Pakistan in Rawalpindi on Friday in memory of Marsh, would do the same for Warne ahead of day two on Saturday.
