PERTH, March 27: England captain Nasser Hussain was among hundreds of mourners gathered in Fremantle Wednesday at the memorial service for England cricket allrounder Ben Hollioake, who died in a car accident last weekend.

Hussain was there representing the England side while the rest of his team prepare for their upcoming Test match in New Zealand.

The majority of Hollioake’s Surrey team-mates were also at the funeral service including former England cricket captain Alec Stewart.

The rest of the England team will hold a private ceremony at their Auckland hotel to coincide with the cremation in Perth Thursday.

“A few of the guys wanted to go, but logistically this was not possible. As captain, Nasser is the appropriate person to go,” England coach Duncan Fletcher was quoted as saying.

The team will wear their England blazers and ties while Hollioake’s Surrey team-mate Mark Butcher sings a song with his guitar.

“We’ve asked Butch to sing a song of his choice because I think it will go down quite well,” Fletcher said.

The 24-year-old Hollioake was killed when his Porsche hit a brick retaining wall after exiting a Perth freeway early last Saturday morning.

His 23-year-old girlfriend who was in the passenger seat at the time remains in a critical condition.

Hollioake, who was born in Melbourne, was visiting his family in Western Australia after taking part in the one-day matches in New Zealand.

Hussain carried over Hollioake’s England blazer to return to his family after he left it behind with team management while on holiday in NZ after the one-day series.—Reuters