Andrew Symonds' memorial service to be held in Townsville Stadium on May 27

Andrew Symonds’ former teammates will be paying a tribute to the late cricketer by celebrating his life and achievements at a no-jacket, no-tie memorial event that will be held close to his house in North Queensland, confirmed his family. Symonds passed away on May 14, at the age of 46, after he met with a terrible car accident.

While his poet friend Rupert McCall will be reciting a poem dedicated to the legendary all-rounder, Ian Healy, Adam Gilchrist, Darren Lehmann, Jimmy Maher, and Matthew Mott will be the ones to speak at the memorial service. The Riverway Stadium event will also be broadcasted live at Symonds’ former home ground at the Queensland Cricketers’ Club.

Before the memorial, the allrounder’s family and friends will assemble for a private memorial service on Friday morning, with a strict dress code of ‘definitely no jacket and tie required.’ Many former Queensland players spent the previous week supporting one another through the Bulls Masters charity and public speaking group. Fans have also left fishing rods and cricket balls in front of their homes as a tribute to Symonds.

The service will start at 2.30 p.m. (gates open at 2 p.m.) and will be live-streamed; broadcast specifics will be announced later, said a report by Cricket Australia.

Andrew Symonds was a two-time World champion

Symonds was a part of world-cup winning campaigns twice and achieved laurels in the limited-overs game. He first rose to prominence during the 2003 World Cup, when he hammered Pakistan with an unbeaten 143. He also helped Australia remain undefeated and played a crucial role to upset India in a one-sided final.

He was a member of Australia’s World Cup-winning side in the West Indies in 2007, when they won their fourth 50-over World Cup. Symonds also represented Australia in 14 T20Is, scoring 337 runs and taking eight wickets.

The past few months have been difficult for Australian Cricket as three of their legendary players passed away. Former wicketkeeper Rob Marsh and legendary spinner Shane Warne died of a heart attack earlier this year.