Australian women finally on the wall at Warne’s MCG playground
Georgia Wareham grew up watching Shane Warne bowl leg spin and is now a world-class leg-spinner herself, although a serious knee injury has kept her from playing in the women’s World Cup in New Zealand.
On Monday, Wareham stood with teammates Sophie Molineux and Delissa Kimmince at the MCG for the unveiling of a mural that depicts their famous Twenty20 World Cup victory in front of a record crowd there exactly two years ago.
The mural will have pride of place in the corridors of the MCC members’ enclosure near the Long Room, at the ground where Warne is already immortalised in a statue and will soon have a stand named after him. It is the first artwork featuring a women’s sporting team to be on permanent display at the MCG.
Sophie Molineux, left, artist Vincent Fantauzzo, Georgia Wareham and Delissa Kimmince stand next to the mural at the MCG. Credit:Justin McManus
“He is the reason why I bowl leg spin,” said Wareham of Warne.
“I remember I used to go to my Nan’s place and watch Warnie bowl and then later I would go out in the backyard and try to replicate it with my brother. He’s had such an influence on the game and the amount of leg-spinners we see today is because of him. Seeing the way he went about it, he brought so much entertainment.″
As Meg Lanning’s team prepared for their next World Cup game against Pakistan, Wareham, Molineux and Kimmince recalled the night 86,174 people packed the ’G – a record for a women’s sporting event in Australia – to watch them defeat India in the final, and when they danced on stage with pop star Katy Perry afterwards.
The mural, painted by portrait artist Vincent Fantauzzo, and unveiled on International Women’s Day eve, recreates the jubilant team photo and features all 16 squad members.
“I think it’s important for people to see it,” said Wareham. “It will be cool for little girls to see that and have that as a dream, because for a lot of us that was our dream come true as well.”
Molineux, who is also injured, said it was a “massive” thrill to see such a significant sporting moment celebrated “alongside all the old-school pictures of the legends of the game”.
“To see a women’s team up there is really special,” she said.
Fantauzzo, who has painted the late Heath Ledger, film director Baz Luhrmann and former Prime Minister Julia Gillard, said the project was one of the most important of his career.
“This is my first major commission for sport, and while I’ve painted sportspeople before, this one took on an extra layer of significance because of what the World Cup moment here at the MCG represents to history, to the players themselves and to those that witnessed it,” he said.
“Because of that there was a little bit of nervousness in unveiling it because it’s one thing to get the reaction of one person whose portrait you’re painting. This time I’ve got 16 people’s reactions, plus their friends and family, and the wider Australian public.”
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