Shane Warne to be knighted posthumously?

Shane Warne. Pic/AFP

A petition for Shane Warne to be knighted posthumously for his exploits on the cricket field is gaining momentum.

The legendary cricketer died recently aged 52 following a suspected heart-attack while he was vacationing on an island in Thailand. Following the cricket great's demise, there have been calls for the constitution to be amended so that he can get the highest honour.

A report in the dailymail.co.uk said on Sunday that, while the campaign to knight Warne had started three years ago, "(it had) regained momentum after Warne's death".

The report said that Warne was the only one of Wisden's five greatest cricketers of the 20th century not to be knighted. As per the constitution, a knighthood can only be awarded to the living.

In fact, the Australian great had "poked fun at the fact he was the only person who was not a knight who had been named in Wisden's Five Cricketers Of The Century", the report added.

"Sir Donald Bradman, sir Garfield Sobers, sir Jack Hobbs, sir Vivian Richards were the other four cricketers included on the list."

"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 had written in a column for The Daily Telegraph. "Perhaps my knighthood has been lost in the post".

The petition argues that there are no excuses for denying Warne the honour.

"Mr Warne's credentials for this honour speak for themselves. 708 Test wickets. 1,319 first-class wickets. Hundreds of one day wickets," says the petition.

"Ashes trophies, World Cups, beating the mighty West Indies in the West Indies, the getting out on 99, the flipper, the champagne on the balcony, the bunnies, the baked beans, the lifestyle, the romances, the life, the man, the legend. And that's just his cricket. He's also a philanthropist, a journalist, easily the best commentator, an entertainer, a larrikin, and an all-around Australian hero," the petition says, according to the report.

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