Late Australian spin legend Shane Warne's body arrived at his home city Melbourne from Bangkok in a private jet on Thursday, almost a week after his shock death due to a suspected heart attack.
Warne's body was flown to Melbourne in a coffin wrapped in the Australian flag. The private jet landed at around 8:30pm local time. He will be given a state funeral on March 30 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
"A private jet carrying the Australian cricket legend’s body touched down at Essendon Fields Airport in Melbourne at around 8.30pm on Thursday night. The charter flight was moved into a private hangar," 'new.com.au' reported.
"Fans and friends, including Warne’s personal assistant Helen Nolan, were at the airport to greet the private plane," the report added.
Warne, who is credited with reviving the art of leg-spin bowling by taking 708 wickets in 145 Tests in an illustrious career spanning 15 years, died at the age of 52 in Koh Samui, Thailand on March 4. The news of his death sent shock waves across the cricket fraternity.
Following his demise, Warne's body had been taken to the mainland city of Surat Thani and then to the capital city of Bangkok. An autopsy confirmed he died of natural causes following a suspected heart attack and there was no foul play involved. His family will hold a private funeral before the public service, which is expected to have an attendance of over one lakh people.
Warne took his 700th test wicket in front of a crowd of 89,155 at the MCG during the fourth Ashes test against England on Boxing Day, 2006. The Great Southern Stand at the stadium will soon be renamed in his honour. A statue of Warne outside the cavernous arena has become an impromptu shrine to the leg-spinner, who was popular as much for his effervescent and grounded personality as his all but peerless skill with the cricket ball.
Tributes from across the world have continued to pour in for Warne since his death, both from fellow cricketing greats and the likes of rock star Mick Jagger and Oscar winner Russell Crowe. Australia`s Prime Minister Scott Morrison called Warne "one of our nation`s greatest characters".
