MELBOURNE, 28 January 2004 — Australia captain Ricky Ponting and his team were among an estimated 15,000 mourners who gathered to pay their respects at the funeral of David Hookes at the Adelaide Oval yesterday.

Former Australia batsman Hookes is best remembered for hitting England captain Tony Greig for five successive fours on his debut at the 1977 Centenary Test in Melbourne.

Greig was among the mourners alongside ex-West Indies skipper Clive Lloyd, former Australia captains Richie Benaud, Mark Taylor and Ian Chappell, and suspended leg spinner Shane Warne.

Former Australia players David Boon, Merv Hughes, Ian Healy and Dean Jones and ex-New Zealand captain Martin Crowe were also at the funeral.

Hookes, 48, died on Jan. 19 after suffering serious head injuries and a heart attack in an assault outside a Melbourne hotel the previous night.

He was resuscitated at the scene and rushed to hospital in a coma but never regained consciousness.

“I think that innings (in the Centenary Test) is so typical of David, not only of his cricket career, but his life,” Chappell told mourners.

“When everybody else was struggling with the occasion, Hookesy came along and put it all into perspective.

“I can just imagine him saying, ‘Well mate, it’s just another game of cricket, a half-volley is a half-volley, you’ve got to whack it’.”

Academy Award-winning actor Russell Crowe was among other celebrities at the funeral.

Hookes was one of Australia’s most popular and charismatic players. He appeared in 23 Tests from 1976-77 to 1985-86 and worked as a media commentator and as coach of Victoria after his retirement.

His death received massive coverage across Australia and his funeral was shown live on national television.

Three stumps were placed at one end of the Adelaide Oval pitch where Hookes scored 20 centuries.

A bat was left resting against the stumps, as the swashbuckling left-hander had done during breaks in play, along with a red South Australia team cap.

Hookes’ son Kristofer told mourners: “He was a completely selfless person whose generosity often bordered on the ridiculous.”

South Australia captain and Australia batsman Darren Lehmann placed one of Hookes’ old bats on the coffin before the crowd-pleaser received his final standing ovation.

Butcher’s Concern Over West Indies Tour

In London, Mark Butcher has urged England’s cricket authorities not to allow the controversy over the proposed tour to Zimbabwe to have a negative impact on the forthcoming Test series in the West Indies.

The Surrey left-hander is due to fly out to the Caribbean with the rest of England’s 16-man party on Feb. 25 but is concerned their preparations are being undermined by the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the tour of Zimbabwe in October.

The England and Wales Cricket Board have already sought advice from the government on the issue and held talks with the International Cricket Council at Lord’s on Monday.

“The best difference this time is that the ECB and the Government are trying to preempt any disasters like those that happened last time with the guys waiting to play in the World Cup,” said Butcher.

“With a bit of luck we can go off and concentrate on playing a series in the West Indies and it will be taken care of back here.”

The drawn-out process last winter — where players were consulted before the final decision not to play the World Cup match — possibly affected England’s challenge and Butcher is hopeful that his employers will take a firm line which the players can abide by.

“I’d like to think I keep myself aware of pretty much what is going on in the world and it’s plainly obvious to everyone that things are not right in Zimbabwe,” stressed Butcher, a veteran of 61 Tests.

“But it’s one thing to say what I’d do, but in a team game it’s not about what you want, it’s what everyone wants to do.

“It’s not an individual decision to be taken and with a bit of luck there will not be a decision for us to make anyway. Our employers, the ECB, and the government at the moment are talking about what should happen and what is going to happen.

“We don’t make the decision on where we go on these tours, we don’t organize the fixtures, and we don’t do any of it. That’s all taken care of, that’s what our employers do — it’s in their hands and until it comes back to us that’s it.”