Julie Bishop has revealed Shane Warne acted as her ‘lifeline’ during a ‘scary’ stand-off with Zimbabwean war veterans.
Two days after the beloved cricket great was laid to rest, the former foreign minister told The Project how the mere mention of Warne’s name diffused a tense interview that could have turned ugly.
Bishop had been in Zimbabwe as an official Zimbabwean election observer in 2002, in an era when mostly white-owned farms were taken over, sometimes violently.
Bishop had been asked to interview a gang who had taken control of a commercial farm about which party they’d vote for in the highly controversial elections.
War veterans’ fond memories of Warne’s time in Zimbabwe helped smooth a tough conversation with locals for former foreign minister Julie Bishop
Former foreign minister Julie Bishop told The Project how the mere mention of Shane Warne’s name diffused a tense interview with Zimbabwean land rights activists that could have turned ugly
Years of turmoil over the rightful ownership of Zimbabwean farms at times turned deadly and Ms Bishop remembered how ‘scary’ a conversation with a group of land rights activists seemed.
‘It was the most rural, isolated part of Zimbabwe and there were some war veterans that had taken over a commercial farm and it was pretty scary,’ Ms Bishop said.
‘I had to interview them about the election and the leader of this gang, you know, they were kind of like bikies, tatts and no teeth and chains around their necks and I was asking them how they were going to vote.
‘The Leopard, he was their leader, he glared at me and said, “you British!” and I thought, “whoops, here’s my moment” and I said, “no, I’m Australian!” and he looked at me and he looked at the others and he said, “Shane Warne!”
‘I can tell you I’ve never been so relieved to hear Shane Warne’s name as I was then.
‘He was my lifeline and apparently … [Zimbabweans] just fell in love with the great man.’
Warne had toured Zimbabwe with Australia B in his first overseas tour in 1991, long before the nation became a tinderbox and was warmly remembered for it.
He secured his first five wicket haul in first class cricket in the match, a match-winning 7-49 and was at the wicket when Australia hit the winning runs. It was days after he turned 22.
Ms Bishop said Warne’s impact was ‘way beyond Australia’.
‘I found time and time again that people would raise Shane Warne as part of the great Australian character.’
Warne, who died at age 52 this month, was farewelled by his closest family and friends and dozens of sporting elite at a private service at St KIlda Football Club on Sunday
Julie Bishop was an election observer in Zimbabwe in the early 2000s and came face to face with a group of land rights activists who glared at her when they thought she was British
Warne was farewelled by his 80 closest family and friends including his ex-wife, three children, and dozens of sporting elite at a private service at St KIlda Football Club on Sunday.
A state memorial will be held on March 30 in front of ens of thousands of fans.
The highly anticipated funeral will be held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, nearly a month after the Aussie icon died of a heart attack on March 4.
Organisers have reassured fans more tickets will become available in the lead-up to the service which can be attended by over 100,000 people.
Julie Bishop revealed the power of Shane Warne’s name on Tuesday, when she said some surly gang Zimbabwean members lightened up during a tense discussion about elections because they remembered Warnie’s heroics on his first tour there
At least 50,000 fans will join Warne’s family, friends, dignitaries and invited guests, which will include former and current cricketers at the MCG, the scene of Warne’s famous Ashes hat-trick in 1994 and 700th Test wicket on Boxing Day in 2006.
The memorial is scheduled to start at 7pm on March 30, with doors opening at 5.30pm, and is expected to last at least two hours.
Warne’s life is set to be dramatised in a new miniseries, which will reportedly air as early as next year.
Nine Entertainment Co are in talks to sign a production company to explore the drama-filled life of the Australian icon, who died on March 4 at age 52 from a suspected heart attack in Koh Samui, Thailand.
Nine’s head of drama Andy Ryan said the miniseries will be a ‘premium quality drama with international appeal’.