The Great Southern Stand at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) will be renamed the SK Warne Stand as soon as possible, Victorian Sport Minister Martin Pakula announced on Saturday.
Great Southern Stand at MCG to be renamed SK Warne Stand (AP Photo)
HIGHLIGHTS
- Great Southern Stand at MCG will be renamed SK Warne Stand
- Shane Warne died aged 52 after a suspected heart attack
- Warne recorded 708 Test wickets, the second-highest in history
Victorian Sport Minister Martin Pakula announced on Saturday that the Great Southern Stand at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) would be renamed the SK Warne Stand in honor of the Australian legend as soon as possible.
Australian cricket, along with the wider cricket world, is shocked at the loss of Shane Warne, a true cricket genius who has died aged 52. The Legendary Spinner deceased after a suspected heart attack.
“I don’t want to talk about the renaming process other than to say I had a chat with Dan a few hours ago and he exchanged messages with Shane’s brother and although it may be a technical process that would normally go through, on that.” sometimes you have to do without,” the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Pakula as saying.
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“You have to respond in a way I think the entire community sees fit,” he added.
Known in the cricket world as ‘Warnie’, he revived and improved the art of leg-spin bowling when he emerged on the international stage in the 1990s and was a central figure in one of Australia’s most successful periods in the sport. He was also one of cricket’s larger than life showmen.
Warne held the record for most Test wickets (708) when he retired in 2007 after his 145th match. Only Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan has passed him at 800.
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Career highlights included two consecutive Player of the Match awards in the semifinals and finals of the 1999 Cricket World Cup when he was included in the Five Cricket Players of the Twentieth Century by Wisden, colloquially known as the bible of sport. and being part of five Ashes-winning teams against England. He also played in 194 one-day internationals.
Warne made a stunning Test debut against India in Sydney in 1992 but quickly rose to become a key figure in all formats in one of the greatest sustained periods of dominance by any team in world cricket.
