Shane Warne: Private funeral held for Australian cricket great in Melbourne

Family, friends, sportspeople and entertainers bid farewell to Australian cricket legend Shane Warne at a private funeral held at his hometown in Melbourne on Sunday.

Warne, one of the finest bowlers of all time whose talent and personality transcended cricket, died about two weeks ago at the age of 52 while on holiday on the Thai resort island of Koh Samui. Thai authorities said a post-mortem examination showed his death was from natural causes and Warne's family later accepted the findings.

Shane Warne: A cricket phenomenon whose brilliance could not be put into words

About 80 people attended the service including retired Australia Test captains Mark Taylor, Allan Border and Michael Clarke, while former England skipper Michael Vaughan was also present. Warne's long-time teammates Mark Waugh and Ian Healy were also in attendance, along with bowling greats Merv Hughes and Glenn McGrath.

Guests were asked to wear St Kilda scarves and a pair of them were draped across Warne's coffin as it was driven around the oval of St Kilda Football Club to popular songs including the 1970s Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes hit 'The Time of My Life', the Australian Associated Press reported.

"To Warnie," Warne's close friend Eddie McGuire declared in his speech, according to AAP. "He was simply the best."

Warne was one of the most famous and influential Australian cricketers in history, and is widely credited with revitalising the art of leg spin bowling after an era dominated by fast bowlers.

He was the first player to take 700 wickets and also became the first player in over 90 years to take a hat-trick in the Ashes when he achieved the feat against England at Melbourne in 1994.

A state memorial service will be held at the 100,000-seater Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on March 30.

Key facilities

Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
Premier League-standard football pitch
400m Olympic running track
NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
600-seat auditorium
Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
Specialist robotics and science laboratories
AR and VR-enabled learning centres
Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills

Gothia Cup 2025

4,872 matches

1,942 teams

116 pitches

76 nations

26 UAE teams

15 Lebanese teams

2 Kuwaiti teams

Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.	United States
2.	China
3.	UAE
4.	Japan
5	Norway
6.	Canada
7.	Singapore
8.	Australia
9.	Saudi Arabia
10.	South Korea

While you're here

Selina Denman: Why social media influencers can be frustrating for journalists

Maryam AlMheiri: 'Some people believe media regulation is about restriction ... it's not'

Rhodri Marsden: Bloggers or floggers: social media moves to wise up on influencers

Sole survivors

Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.

McIlroy's recent struggles

Last six stroke-play events (First round score in brackets)

Arnold Palmer Invitational Tied for 4th (74)

The US Masters Tied for 7th (72)

The Players Championship Tied for 35th (73)

US Open Missed the cut (78)

Travellers Championship Tied for 17th (67)

Irish Open Missed the cut (72)

While you're here

Kareem Shaheen: Even a pandemic could not unite today's America

Michele Wucker: The difference between a black swan and a grey rhino

Robert Matthews: Has flawed science and rushed research failed us?

Specs

Engine: 51.5kW electric motor

Range: 400km

Power: 134bhp

Torque: 175Nm

Price: From Dh98,800

Available: Now

On Women's Day

Dr Nawal Al-Hosany: Why more women should be on the frontlines of climate action

Shelina Janmohamed: Why shouldn't a spouse be compensated fairly for housework?

Justin Thomas: Challenge the notion that 'men are from Mars, women are from Venus'

The National Editorial: Is there much to celebrate on International Women's Day 2021?

The specs

Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo

Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm

Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm

Transmission: Eight-speed auto

Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km

On sale: December

Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)

Kareem Shaheen on Canada

Canada should look past the US election outcome

There would be no Alphonso Davies without open borders

Hard-hit Canada is springing back to life – or to the already cliched 'new normal'

INDIA%20SQUAD

%3Cp%3ERohit%20Sharma%20(capt)%2C%20Shubman%20Gill%2C%20Cheteshwar%20Pujara%2C%20Virat%20Kohli%2C%20Ajinkya%20Rahane%2C%20KL%20Rahul%2C%20KS%20Bharat%20(wk)%2C%20Ravichandran%20Ashwin%2C%20Ravindra%20Jadeja%2C%20Axar%20Patel%2C%20Shardul%20Thakur%2C%20Mohammed%20Shami%2C%20Mohammed%20Siraj%2C%20Umesh%20Yadav%2C%20Jaydev%20Unadkat%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

ESSENTIALS

The flights

Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.

The hotels

Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.

The tours

A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.