‘An incredible day’: Shane Warne’s children gather to celebrate the cricketer’s latest honour

In a heartfelt tribute to the late cricket icon Shane Warne, the sports oval within R G Chisholm Reserve now proudly bears his name, officially becoming the Shane Warne Oval.

The renaming ceremony, which took place recently, saw a gathering of close friends, family, and the local Bayside community.

Adding a deeply personal touch to the celebration, Warne’s children, Jackson, Summer and Brooke, joined in to honour their father’s memory. Their presence highlighted the profound impact Warne had on not only the world of sports but also within the close-knit community.

Warne, a local legend who grew up in Black Rock, always had a special connection with the Bayside area. It was on the very oval within R G Chisholm Reserve that he honed his cricket and Aussie Rules skills during his youth.

In an equally touching gesture, Warne’s daughter, Brooke, took to Instagram to mark the occasion, sharing the cherished moment alongside her siblings.

“Such an incredible day with the renaming of the iconic Duncan St- Chisholm reserve after our Dad,” she wrote.

“An oval Dad grew up playing on and had a very special connection with. We know he would be so wrapt with now it being called The Shane Warne Oval.”

 

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Mayor Cr. Hanna El Mouallem happily shared that the Council easily agreed to name the oval after Warne, considering his impressive career and strong connection to the Bayside region.

“Shane was a lifelong member of our community, and the naming of the oval in his honour is a fantastic tribute to a true Australian sporting icon, but more importantly his contribution to charity and people in need through his well-established charity,” Mouallem said.

Warne, died at the age of 52 on March 4, 2022, while enjoying a holiday on the island of Koh Samui in Thailand.

Following his sudden death, Warne’s management released a statement acknowledging the tragedy.

“Shane was found unresponsive in his villa and despite the best efforts of medical staff, he could not be revived,” the statement said.

Widely regarded as one of the finest bowlers in the annals of cricket history, Warne made his debut in Test cricket in 1992, embarking on a journey that would see him claim over 1,000 wickets across both Test matches and One-Day Internationals. Warne’s astonishing tally of 708 Test wickets, achieved in just 145 appearances, held the coveted record for the most wickets taken in Test cricket until 2007.

Acknowledging his extraordinary sporting achievements, the Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack bestowed upon Warne the rare honour of being named one of its Five Cricketers of the Twentieth Century, sharing this elite status with legendary figures such as Sir Donald Bradman, Sir Garfield Sobers, Sir Jack Hobbs, and Sir Vivian Richards. In 2013, he was immortalised in the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.

Many aficionados of the game credit Warne with revolutionising cricket, particularly for his mastery of leg spin—a craft that, back in 1994, some believed was vanishing due to its formidable technical demands. Warne breathed new life into this art form, leaving an enduring legacy that continues to inspire aspiring cricketers around the world.