Heroes welcome Melbourne plans parade for World Cup winners Click here for more on this story Posted: Tuesday June 22, 1999 02:16 PM   Aussie captain Steve Waugh gives a thumbs up on his way back to Australia after his squad won the World Cup. AP SYDNEY, Australia (Reuters) -- Australia prepared Tuesday to welcome home its World Cup cricket winners barely a month after the team had been written off by critics and much of the country's sports-mad public. Australia started the tournament dreadfully with losses to New Zealand and Pakistan, meaning cricket was relegated to the inside pages of newspaper sports sections in favor of winter football codes. But those poor performances had been forgotten by Tuesday as Sydney and Melbourne, Australia's two major cities, battled for the right to be the first to welcome home captain Steve Waugh and his men. Melbourne won, with the Australian players due to fly in early Wednesday before they are feted with a ticker-tape parade and the keys to the city. Radio and television news bulletins across the nation gave saturation coverage to the triumph over Pakistan in the final. Cricket-mad Australian Prime Minister John Howard is planning a parliamentary reception for the team next week. Even opposing sports joined the fray, with the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) saying it was negotiating with the Australian Cricket Board (ACB) to parade the cricketers before 90,000 fans attending the Wallabies' test against England at the Olympic Stadium in Sydney on Saturday. Melbourne newspapers verged on hysteria as they pleaded with hometown hero Shane Warne not to retire. On a sadder note, Steve Waugh and his twin brother Mark will leave shortly after the Melbourne parade to attend their grandfather's funeral. Edward Waugh, 89, died just hours after his grandsons' success Sunday.   Related information Stories Australia thrashes Pakistan to win World Cup Ad guru thinks South Australia should be Bradman Aussies won World Cup, tied 'real' final Australia comes back from brink of elimination Cricket-crazy Pakistan mourns team's World Cup loss Multimedia Click here for the latest audio and video Search our site Watch CNN/SI 24 hours a day Sports Illustrated and CNN have combined to form a 24 hour sports news and information channel. To receive CNN/SI at your home call 1-888-53-CNNSI. Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.

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