One of the heritage-listed grandstands at the Junction Oval has been named after the legend late Shane Warne. Cricket Victoria and St Kilda Cricket Club have decided to rename the in honour of the leg-spinner’s contribution to Victoria and his club team St Kilda.
St Kilda is a suburb just south of Melbourne’s CBD. The stand at the western side of the Junction Oval will be named after the Australian legend. Warne’s two daughters Summer and Brooke alongside his father Keith Warne attended the unveiling of the stand. The ceremony occurred before the Victoria vs New South Wales match in the Marsh One-Day Cup 2024.
Naming the heritage-listed stand after one of the best in the world took quite some time. The MCG had already named its southern stand after Shane Warne at his state funeral in 2022.
Warne’s father, Keith Warne said, “Today marks a very special and proud day for the Warne family to have a stand named the Shane Warne stand here at the Junction Oval. It is a wonderful tribute to Shane, who we know would be honoured to be chosen for such an accolade”.
He further added, “In February 1991 he made his first-class debut playing for Victoria against Western Australia here at the Junction Oval. Some of Shane’s most enjoyable early cricketing years were whilst playing with his beloved St Kilda. Especially when the matches were played here at the Junction Oval.”
Shane Warne; the best leg-spinner in cricket history
“As proud· as Shane would be to know a stand at the Junction Oval bears his name, he would also be thrilled to know that he will now be forever linked with St Kilda Cricket Club and the Junction Oval. On behalf of her family, I’d like to thank Cricket Victoria and St Kilda Cricket Club for their support in honouring Shane with such a wonderful tribute, further enhancing Shane’s incredible legacy”, he concluded.
Shane Warne was the best leg-spinner in world cricket to date. He was a magician with the ball. Warne has given a lot of memorable performances for Australia during his career. He picked up 708 wickets in test cricket in 145 matches. It is the second-highest wickets for any bowler in test cricket.
He also has 293 wickets in 194 ODIs. Warne has a whopping 1319 wickets in just 301 first-class matches. He’s truly one of the legends of the game of cricket and deserves all the respect from the fans and the cricket fraternity.
