Share this @internewscast.com
Sam Newman drew some of the biggest laughs at the memorial for cricket great Shane Warne when he called out the one moment that was on everyone’s mind.
Speaking as part of a panel of Warnes’ mates, including comedian Glenn Robbins at a packed MCG on Wednesday night, Newman admitted he had lost a few bucks on sporting wagers with Warnie over the years.
‘I think we just heard from Shane then. He was trying to blow your hair off your head. He‘s going to go, “I’m going to get Sam if it takes me forever”,’ Robbins said, referring to the wind howling through the MCG.
‘Mind you, it is my own hair,’ Newman responded.
Newman also described how Warne took him on a wild adventure in a sports car, describing the experience as ‘Shane training to be a Formula 1 driver’.
Later, after joking about Warne starring in a pasta sauce advert in Italy, in which the Spin King spoke Italian, Newman said: ‘I didn’t go out that often with Shane. We’re a little different generations but when I did I couldn’t understand what language he was speaking. And he spoke quickly and often.’
Newman mused over how the United Nations had sent a representative to the event at the MCG.
‘I tell you what I’m finding it hard to get over, the United Nations are part of this. Holy mackerel that is extraordinary,’ Newman joked.
‘He’s infiltrated the United Nations and they are here that is staggering.’
Moments earlier Andrea Egan from the international organisation had given a speech to the crowd praising Warne’s humanitarian work.
‘I want to convey the deepest condolences of the United Nations to Shane’s family, friends and fans,’Ms Egan said.
Aaron Hamill (left), Sam Newman (centre) and Glenn Robbins (right) attend the state memorial service for former Australian cricketer Shane Warne at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on March 30
Warne’s children, Jackson, Summer and Brooke (pictured with Warne) unveiled the renamed Great Southern Stand as the Shane Warne Stand after each giving emotional speeches
She then went on to explain she was speaking on behalf of ‘The Lion’s Share’ a non-profit co-founded by the UN development program and ‘partners in Australia’.
Warne had become an ambassador for the group in 2021.
‘Shane was a man of his word and he used his fame to lean into The Lion’s Share at this pivotal moment for the planet,’ Ms Egan said.
‘We invite you to join us as we inaugurate the Shane Warne Conservation grant.’
The group has done work with sea turtles in Sri Lanka, anti-poaching efforts in Africa and after the Australia’s 2019-20 summer bushfires.
Robbins who followed up Newman’s jokes with his own in the most-light-hearted part of the night.
‘I used to play golf with him as well and it was hard because he had such a full life and he would tell the best stories and he’d have photographs to show you,’ Robbins said.
‘You’d be blown away and go, ‘I can’t top that’ and then he’d asked ‘Glenn what have you been up to?”
‘And I would say ‘well I’ve taken up Pilates it’s pretty exciting’.’
‘I tell you what I hope someone has impounded his phone, we were treated to a cavalcade of incredible pictures in a four-and-half-hour round of golf,’ Newman added.
Warne had a history of charity and community work, including through his disbanded foundation, but his links to wildlife conservation were previously unknown.
Andrea Egan from the United Nations speaks at the memorial for Shane Warne (pictured)
The cricket legend, who died in Thailand of a suspected heart attack on March 4, was remembered during Wednesday night’s farewell as a loveable larrikin and devoted dad.
His father Keith Warne led tributes and described his son’s death as the ‘darkest day in our family’s life’.
Warne’s children, Jackson, Summer and Brooke, unveiled the renamed Great Southern Stand as the Shane Warne Stand after each giving emotional speeches.
Friend and former St Kilda footballer Aaron Hamill gave an insight into Warne’s larrikin nature, when the cricketer served as his best man and leaned in for a hug just before the nuptials.
About 50,000 people attended the MCG to farewell Warne (pictured)
‘He said ‘mate, it’s not too late’ and, Shane being Shane, he pulled out two passports. He managed to get his hands on my passport as a bit of a gag,’ Hamill said.
Elton John, Chris Martin, Robbie Williams and Ed Sheeran were among those to lend their superstar talents with pre-recorded musical performances, while Australian actors Hugh Jackman and Eric Bana also gave virtual tributes.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese were in attendance.
Others at the MCG, the site of Warne’s hat-trick in 1994 and 700th Test wicket in 2006, included former Australian captain Allan Border, ex-English skipper Nasser Hussain and West Indian great Brian Lara.
Warne’s everyman appeal was on full display outside the ground as his statue once again became adorned with beer cans and baked beans – two of his other great loves.
A colossal one billion viewers tuned into the memorial, with 300 million from India alone.
Millions also watched from Pakistan, Bangladesh and the UK as a packed Melbourne MCG farewelled the popular spinner on Wednesday.
Source: DailyMail
