Melbourne, Mar 20 (IANS): Former England skipper Michael Vaughan, Australian stars Glenn McGrath, Merv Hughes, Ian Healy and Mark Waugh were among a group of Shane Warne's former teammates at a private event to bid farewell to the cricketing great, who died earlier this month in Thailand.

Warne, 52, was vacationing on the island of Koh Samui in Thailand when he died of a suspected heart-attack. His body was brought back to Australia on a chartered flight.

On Sunday, a host of former teammates and international stars were among those to farewell Warne at a small private funeral here.

While Warne will be given a full public service at his beloved Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) later this month, approximately 80 of his nearest and dearest friends and family were in Melbourne on Sunday to pay their respect.

A group of former Australia Test captains also attended with Allan Border, Mark Taylor and Michael Clarke among a group of Warne's closest friends that paid their respect to the Victorian, ICC reports.

Warne's public service on March 30 is expected to attract at large crowd at the MCG, a venue which Warne made his own over his 15-year international career.

Warne famously claimed his 700th Test wicket at the ground on Boxing Day in 2006 when he dismissed England captain Andrew Strauss and finished his career with 56 Test wickets at the iconic venue.