Former cricket star Shane Warne’s checkered life has become the subject of a stage musical that might eventually tour England.
Eddie Perfect, author and performer in Shane Warne The Musical, said yesterday he hoped the Melbourne-based Warne, who was the leading all-time wicket-taker in Test cricket when he retired nearly two years ago, will come out to the theater to see it.
“No one knows whether he will come or not, but the show’s respectful and once he sees it I’m sure he’ll get it,” Perfect said hours ahead of its opening night at the Athenaeum Theatre One.
PHOTO: AFP
The musical traces Warne’s early life through to his meeting his now former wife Simone when she was a promotional girl for a beer company.
It also includes the so-called “Ball of the Century” that dismissed England captain Mike Gatting in the 1993 Ashes series — Warne’s first Test — and his celebrated controversies over text messaging and relationship scandals.
“Such ridiculous things have happened to Shane Warne, incredibly good things and incredibly disastrous things — you couldn’t make this stuff up,” Perfect said. “We’re all human and we all make mistakes and if you take judgment out of it, I think it’s been a wonderful life.”
One song sums up Warne’s career when his character sings: “When the credits roll, what matters is how I bowled.”
Executive producer Kevin Whyte said he would like to take the show to London’s West End.
“I hope it could run for a couple of years and then hopefully there will be some interest in the UK,” Whyte said.
Shane Warne The Musical is later expected to tour Perth and Sydney.
Warne, now a cricket coach, analyst, Twenty20 exponent and poker player, recently expressed disappointment that producers had not sought his permission for the musical.
Yu Yao-hsing on Tuesday nabbed Taiwan’s only goal in the final round of qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, as they fell 3-1 to Sri Lanka at Taipei Municipal Stadium. Early goals from Sri Lanka in the first half left Taiwan struggling to get on the board, and Christopher Tiao’s own goal at 53 minutes sealed the team’s fate in the third round of qualifiers. While acknowledging that the defeat, Taiwan’s sixth in Group D, was disappointing, head coach Matt Ross said he saw reasons to stay positive about the team’s development. “There were lots of positive signs in terms of the
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli yesterday vowed to “keep raising the bar” after winning the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the championship standings. The 19-year-old Italian took advantage of a mid-race safety car to jump into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position, crossing the line ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli’s Suzuka victory came two weeks after the first grand prix win of his career in China, and sent him top of the championship standings after three races, nine points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes are struggling to
INDIGESTION: Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for a third consecutive time after a 4-1 defeat to Bosnia on penalties in a loss Gattuso said was ‘difficult to digest’ Coach Graham Arnold on Tuesday challenged his players to “shock the world” after Iraq became the 48th and final team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup with a nerve-shredding 2-1 win over Bolivia in an intercontinental playoff in Mexico, as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Sweden and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) also secured their places at the finals. Iraq, whose preparations were disrupted by the war in the Middle East, sealed their first appearance at the finals in 40 years and are to play in Group I against France, Senegal and Norway. Goals from Ali al-Hamadi
Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season, took his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut. Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the Astros trailing 5-0. He pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as Houston scored 11 runs during his outing to snatch an 11-9 comeback victory. The win is the Astros’ first of the season and the third of Teng’s MLB career. “It’s my first time pitching for the Astros, so
RSS