March 27, 2002
England captain Nasser Hussain and predecessor Alec Stewart were among hundreds of mourners at the funeral of all-rounder Ben Hollioake yesterday.
Hussain represented the England team, currently on tour in New Zealand, at the service at Our Lady of Mt Carmel Catholic church in the Western Australian port city of Fremantle.
Stewart was joined by a large contingent of Hollioake's Surrey team-mates.
Hussain, the sole representative of the England side in Perth, carried with him Hollioake's England blazer to return to his family. Hollioake, pictured above, had left it behind after the one-day series.
Family death notices in the West Australian newspaper included one from Hollioake's family saying: ‘We love you Bonni Boy’.
The 24-year-old died on Saturday after crashing his sports car into a pylon in Perth, western Australia.
'The next Botham'
His girlfriend Janaya Scholten, 22, who was a passenger, is still in a critical condition with serious head and chest injuries.
The player's sister, Eboni, who was travelling in a following car with her boyfriend Luke Wyllie, watched as the tragedy unfolded.
The Hollioake family, including Ben's brother, Surrey captain Adam, was returning from a meal in Perth when Ben's car careered off the road.
Adam and parents John and Daria, who had been following close behind, were quickly at the scene of the crash.
Inspector Greg Medhurst of Perth police said the cause was still under investigation but drink was not a factor.
He added a post-mortem examination was due to be carried out.
All rounder Hollioake, who was born in Australia but moved to Britain from Perth in 1984, was once billed as the next Ian Botham.
He played two Tests for England - against Australia in 1997 and Sri Lanka in 1998.
Hussain is not expected to attend Hollioake's private cremation tomorrow. Instead he will fly back ahead of the Test, which begins in Auckland on Saturday.
The players are planning to hold a private ceremony of their own at the same time as Hollioake's cremation, with Surrey batsman Mark Butcher asked to sing.
‘I don't think any of it has really sunk in yet,’ he said.
‘It was very hard playing the Test in front of all those people the other day because everyone knew Ben to different degrees in the squad and everyone's finding it difficult.’
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Copyright (c) 2000-2002 Sue Kelly