'He was Superman': Eddie McGuire's tribute to Shane Warne at funeral

TV personality Eddie McGuire has paid special tribute to his good friend Shane Warne at the cricket icon's private funeral in Melbourne.

Warne's family have been left shattered by his sudden death at 52 after he died of a suspected heart attack on Koh Samui island in Thailand.

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After the sporting world paid tribute to the cricket icon, Warne's body was returned to Australia last week.

His private funeral service was held at St Kilda Football Club on Sunday, which is 10 days before his state funeral at the MCG.

Warne's three children, Jackson, Brooke and Summer, and parents Keith and Brigette, were joined by about 80 guests to say their final goodbyes on Sunday.

McGuire delivered the eulogy and was MC for the service, which was held in Moorabbin in recognition of Warne's lifelong association with the St Kilda Football Club.

“The reason why he was so loved is because he was fallible, he was Superman. You threw the ball to Warne, you sat in that Southern Stand and he did the things you dreamt of doing as a kid," McGuire said.

“He had the hat trick, took 700 wickets, the Gatting ball, he did everything.

“He did the things like wow, I wonder what it would be like to be a playboy in London society.”

McGuire added that Warne made everyone feel larger than life during his time with them.

“The magic part about Shane Warne was that he sprinkled his gold dust everywhere he went,” McGuire added.

“He didn’t become a hermit, he brought his friends into everything in life.”

Cricket greats Mark Taylor, Ian Healy, Mark Waugh, Glenn McGrath, Michael Clarke, Merv Hughes and Michael Vaughan were all in attendance.

Guests were invited to wear St Kilda scarves and a pair of them were draped across Warne's coffin as it was driven around the oval to the sound of the 1970s Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes hit The Time of My Life.

The lap of honour was immediately followed by a champagne toast.

Liz Hurley's message to Shane Warne before funeral

Hours before the private funeral, Liz Hurley delivered a heartbreaking message on the eve of cricket legend Shane Warne's private funeral after not being able to attend the service.

Hurley took to social media to express her heartache at not being able to travel to Australia and attend the service.

"My heart aches that I can’t be in Australia tomorrow for Shane’s funeral," she wrote on Instagram.

"I was filming last night and, with the time jump, physically can’t get there. These pictures were taken in Sri Lanka to celebrate our engagement - we had all our children with us and it was the happiest time.

"It still hasn’t really sunk in that he’s gone. It seems too cruel that all the people who loved him will never have another Lion hug, but our memories will live forever.

"RIP Lionheart, with love your Luna."

A crowd of 50,000 people are expected to attend Warne's state funeral on March 30 at the MCG.

with AAP

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