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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
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Open thread: Is Shane Warne the most famous Australian on the planet?

Shane Warne, ex Australian cricketer now TV commentator. At a Sky Sports interview, Acton, West London. 26/2/09. Pic: Tom Jenkins.
‘Has Warnie in fact earnt himself a place at this star-drenched backyard barbie?’ Photograph: Tom Jenkins for the Guardian

Shane Warne’s blazing foray into the art world features the cricket star surrounded by global celebrities past and present, including Marilyn Monroe, Mick Jagger and Muhammad Ali, in a painting he commissioned.

As Guardian writer Russell Jackson has put it: “Like all great art, this one just throws up more questions than answers.” Just one of those questions is: is Shane Warne now the most famous Australian on the planet? Has Warnie in fact earned himself a place at this star-drenched backyard barbie?

Shane Warne describes his painting.

Is Warnie more famous than Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman by virtue of cricket’s huge fan base in India and Pakistan? And what about Kylie Minogue, known to young and old(ish) alike in Australia, Europe and the US? Or are Iggy Azalea and Keith Urban ready to take the mantle?

Tell us what you think – and why.

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