Shane Warne’s funeral: Live updates and news from the memorial service

Today’s MCG will be full of those paying homage to Warne, but the stumps have been left out on the wicket in tribute to one of the greatest bowlers to ever grace the sport.

A massive MCG crowd is expected to join the tributes

More than 50,000 fans had already secured a free ticket to today’s ceremony even before an additional batch of tickets was released at the last minute on Tuesday as venue capacity at the Melbourne Cricket Ground was finalized .

Additionally, thousands of fans are expected to congregate at other cricket stadiums across the country, including the SCG.

Cricket greats come to Melbourne

News of Shane Warne’s death stunned the sports world earlier this month, with the spinner found dead in a villa in Thailand after suffering a heart attack aged just 52.

Recognized as one of the great characters in the game, during his career Warne took 708 Test wickets, the second most ever, and helped revive the art of leg spinning.

Today’s ceremony is set to pay tribute to some of the game’s greats, including Brian Lara, Wasim Akram and Sachin Tendulkar having flown to Melbourne to join a host of Australian legends and former England captain Nasser Hussain among the biggest names in cricket paying their respects.

How to watch the ceremony

TV channel: In the UK, the ceremony will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Mix.

Direct: Sky Sports subscribers can stream the ceremony live via the SkyGo app.

Hello…

Hello and welcome to Standard Sport’s live coverage of today’s state funeral being held in Australia in memory of cricketer great Shane Warne.

A star-studded event is planned to celebrate the life of one of the most talented and charismatic sportsmen the world has ever seen.