Members of the public are set to farewell cricket legend Shane Warne at a memorial at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on March 30.
It comes following his shock death from a heart attack on March 4, which saw an outpouring of tributes from across the world.
Warne is considered among the sport's greats and regarded by pundits as the second-finest cricketer Australia has ever produced after Sir Donald Bradman.
He remains Australia's leading wicket-taker and sits second behind Muttiah Muralitharan globally with 708 scalps in 145 Tests.
Tributes to Australian cricketer Shane Warne outside the MCG in Melbourne, Thursday, March 10, 2022. Source: AAP
Among the Australians paying tribute to Warne are SBS journalists from the cricket-loving South Asian communities, who watched the leg spinner take on their home countries over his career.
Artist creates a sand sculpture to pay tribute to Shane Warne in Desert of Pushkar, Rajasthan, India on 5 March 2022. Source: ABACA
'Celebrity in the same line'
For SBS Malayalam EP Deeju Sivadas, Warne was a “cricket celebrity” and a humble, down to earth person.
He recalls an encounter in 2020 when he met the legendary leg spinner in a line-up of journalists waiting to receive media passes ahead of a one-day international match between India and Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).
“While we were waiting there, we were surprised to see that it was Shane Warne,” Sivadas said, adding that for a journalist who worked in India, it was a “surprise to see a celebrity” standing in line.
“I could never imagine that a cricket star, a legend standing on the same line with you to collect accreditation. So, we were really surprised, [we said] ‘We can wait, but if you want to go, you can do that’.
“He was thanking us a lot and then he went to the counter, and asked, ‘Hey mate, my name is Shane Warne and I just want to collect my identification card’."
Sivadas said the incident provided an insight into how Warne saw himself, as “one of the people”, and it continued when fans began approaching the Australian outside the stadium.
Shane Warne takes a photograph with Indian supporters during the Cricket World Cup semifinal between India and Australia in 2015. Source: AP
“[Fans] were coming and taking selfies with Shane Warne, and he was stopping with every group of spectators, the Indian fans, even though the Indian fans were cheering for team India.
“They could easily know that they could never take such a selfie with an Indian star, not even a current star, or even with a previous player, they could never take a selfie.”
Similar sentiments were shared by SBS Nepali journalist Sameer Ghimire who remembers Warne’s presence at the SCG during the 2015 Cricket World Cup in Australia.
Shane Warne carried from the field by team-mates after defeating England in a Test match in 2006. Source: Press Association
“What struck me, there was the charm, the aura that he carried along when he walked into the dining hall and whenever he came around, everybody used to hang around him and I could see people actually enjoying his company there as well.”
Ghimire said Warne’s impact on cricket was “massive”, especially as he ushered in an era of spin bowling in the early '90s when it was otherwise not a prominent part of the sport.
“It was always about batsman and a fast bowler, always. Of course, there were some good spin bowlers like Abdul Qadir before him, but then they were never regarded as a big match-winner. But when Shane Warne came on the scene, he changed the entire landscape obviously.”
Australia's Shane Warne, left, displays the ball after taking his 537th wicket against India in 2004. Source: AP
‘Spin bowling was an easy and simple task”
Sivadas said South Asian spin bowlers imitated Warne’s “effortless” bowling action over the decades, a trait seen in young cricketers across the region.
SBS Gujarati journalist Vatsal Patel was one such youngster who grew up watching Warne while dreaming of a career as a professional cricketer.
“When I hear the name, Shane Warne, it reminds me of my childhood days.
“[As] a school-going kid, who wanted to play cricket at the highest level, who admired the mighty Australian side of the early '90s and early 2000s, I was the one who was copying legendary leg spinner Shane Warne's action in school."
In 2018, when Patel was studying for a master's degree in sports management at Deakin University in Melbourne, he jumped at the opportunity to work in the media and marketing team of the Indian Premier League (IPL) side, the Rajasthan Royals.
By that stage, Warne had retired from cricket in Australia but had joined the Royals as a mentor, after guiding them to an IPL championship as a player a decade earlier.
Patel said Warne’s ability to deeply strategise ahead of matches separated him from other players, seen during a flight from Jaipur to Bangalore.
Teammates applaud as Rajasthan Royals' Shane Warne enters the field for the IPL match against Mumbai Indians in 2011. Source: AP
“Warnie sat across me, 30 minutes after the flight took off, Warnie was looking for something. He was looking for some help. He asked me in the Australian way, "Hey mate, how are you"? And I said, ‘I am good, thanks’.
“As I knew that he was looking for something. I asked him politely, ‘Anything that I can help you with?’ He said, ‘Yes, yes, I'm looking for a piece of paper and a pen’.
“I quickly gave them to Warne. He was sitting next to one of the coaches over there. He started writing something, and I was very curious to know what he was doing. Later, I got to know that he was making some strategy for the team's next match against the Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore side.”
Patel said the strategy conceived by Warne saw the Royals pull off an unlikely win against the Bangalore side.
File photo dated 04-06-1993 of Australia's Shane Warne appealing a wicket against England. Source: Press Association
Natasha Kaul from SBS Hindi said Warne made her son's dream come true during a Victorian tourism event in 2015 when he signed an item for his birthday.
“When I went to [Warne] and I told him, ‘It's my son's birthday, I need an autograph’, he really got curious.
“[He asked] ‘What is his name? Does he play cricket?’ So, I thought, oh my God, he's very approachable, he's very humble, he's very attentive, he's inquiring about my son.
“He wrote a personalised message for my son on a miniature bat that I was carrying, and my son was on top of the world. He said, ‘Mum, this is the best gift you could ever give me in my life'. He was extremely happy. So, it's a small memory, but it has made a mark on my mind and, you know, it will stay with me forever.”