Aussies Are Calling For Shane Warne To Be Given A Knighthood
Thousands of Australians have signed a petition calling on the powers that be to give cricket legend Shane Warne a posthumous knighthood.
Thousands of Australians have signed a petition calling on the powers that be to give cricket legend Shane Warne a posthumous knighthood.
The petition, which can be found here, is rapidly gaining traction again following the death of the Aussie Spin King.
Using the name, Shane Warne Legacy, the site has gathered over 4,000 signatures at the time of writing.
Another petition which is gaining signatures was started three years ago, before Warne's passing, on Change.org by a man named David Tieck.
The petition reads: "Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, the bible of cricket, in all their wise wisdom, a while back chose 100 cricket experts from around the world to pick the best five players of the 20th century.
"The list they revealed was this: One: Sir Donald Bradman. Two: Sir Garfield Sobers. Three: Sir Jack Hobbs. Four: Shane Warne. Five: Sir Vivian Richards."
In case you missed the glaring omission, Tieck then spells it out.
"Well there is something very obviously wrong with this list. There is a 'sir' missing. Yes, at present Shane Warne is the only member of the top five who is not a Knight.
"This is outrageous, and must be rectified ASAP."
The petition - which has the Queen, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, ex-UK Prime Minister Theresa May, and ex-Opposition Leader Bill Shorten tagged - is now nearing 500 signatures.
But there is one snag in the way of the petition and its' renewed interest: the Constitution states that knighthoods can only be awarded to people who are alive.
Therefore, Tieck would be happy to see the Australian Constitution overhauled to allow for a very special person to get a knighthood.
Tieck isn't the only one who has noted the lack of Sir-dom for Warnie, with the Spin King himself mentioning the idea in an old column in London's Daily Telegraph.
"I'm not quite sure what the future holds but I do note that the other four men who were chosen in Wisden's Five Cricketers Of The Century are all Sirs," Warne wrote.
"Perhaps my knighthood has been lost in the post."
Warne was confirmed to have passed away on March 4 after being found unresponsive in a Thai villa.
Warne's management confirmed the news in a statement, saying he was in Koh Samui at the time and that despite 'the best efforts of medical staff, he could not be revived'.
Warne played his first test match in 1992 and made more than 300 appearances for Australia across all formats throughout his career.
He captained the Australian national team in One Day Internationals and played domestic cricket for his home state of Victoria, as well as English domestic cricket for Hampshire, where he led the team as captain for three seasons from 2005 to 2007.
Warne earned a reputation as one of the greatest bowlers in cricket history, having taken 708 Test match wickets and 293 One-Day International wickets.
In 1999, Warne helped Australia win the Cricket World Cup.
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: Shane Warne, Australia, Petition, knighthood
Rachel Lang