Warne to wed Hurley

St Andrews - Shane Warne and Liz Hurley are to marry after the former Australia cricketer proposed to the British actress and model during a trip to Scotland, it was confirmed on Sunday.

Warne proposed to Hurley, who became famous as actor Hugh Grant's longtime girlfriend, after a romantic dinner on Friday at an exclusive hotel in St. Andrews, on Scotland's east coast, where the bowler was taking part in a golf tournament.

"Thanks for all your congratulations," they said on their Twitter pages, attaching a photograph of themselves about to go to dinner in St. Andrews.

Spin legend Warne, 42, got down on one knee and popped the question in front of other diners and when Hurley agreed the couple were given a standing ovation, The Mail on Sunday and The Sunday Telegraph newspapers reported.

Pictures showed the couple smiling as they walked arm in arm across a golf course on Saturday, with Hurley, 46, wearing a large sapphire and diamond engagement ring.

They were greeted by shouts of congratulations from well-wishers as the pro-amateur Alfred Dunhill Links Championship got under way, the Mail said.

The couple first met at an English race meeting in July last year and have since been spotted together regularly.

When she met Warne, Hurley was still married to Indian businessman Arun Nayar but the couple divorced in December.

Warne has dramatically lost weight since starting to date Hurley and new pictures of the noticeably slimmer star caused astonishment in Australia when they emerged in August.

His romances have sparked almost as much media attention as his performances on the pitch and his energetic love life is widely thought to have cost him the Australian captaincy.

Hurley and actor Hugh Grant were one of Britain's leading celebrity couples in the 1990s but separated in 2000.