Cricket legend McGrath and his two young children release doves in funeral farewell to cancer victim Jane

The English-born Jane McGrath, 42, died on Sunday after a decade-long battle with breast and other cancers.

Her husband and their children James and Holly were by her side when she died.

Several hundred people gathered Wednesday at the Garrison Church in Sydney's Rocks district, where the couple was married in 1999.

Fond memories: Glenn McGrath and his children James and Holly release white doves during the funeral of Jane McGrath in Sydney

Farewell my love: McGrath and his son James watch a pair of doves fly off

Among the other mourners were retired cricketers Darren Lehmann, Ian Healy and Michael Bevan. Bevan's wife, Tracy, was head of the McGrath Foundation, a breast cancer charity.

Tracy Bevan, who is also from England, said Jane McGrath was "kind, generous, extremely funny, creative, sensitive, a loyal wife, a loving mother and the best friend anyone could ever have."

"She's the one I've shared many of my fondest memories with through our cricket years, our weddings, the birth of our beautiful children ..." added Tracy Bevan. "We've cried together but mostly we've laughed together."

Sombre moment: Glenn McGrath follows his wife's coffin out of the historic Garrison Church

Warmth: Adam Gilchrist embraces a friend at the memorial service for Jane McGrath. Left, former Australian cricket captain Steve Waugh

In his eulogy, family friend and Sydney broadcaster Alan Jones said Jane McGrath had a radiance that was hard to ignore.

"My sense is that Jane would be bewildered by the attention she's receiving today and in these last days," he said. "But it's a measure of the impact that she unknowingly had."

Jane McGrath's white, flower-covered coffin was carried from the church as white doves were released to mark the end of the service.

A composed-looking Glenn McGrath accepted hugs and condolences from many of the mourners outside the church as Monty Python's "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" was played.

Jane McGrath had surgery earlier this year and was recovering before complications set in. She began treatment in February 2006 for a third bout of breast cancer which included secondary cancer in her hip in 2003.

McGrath, the most successful fast bowler in cricket history, played his last test match in early January of 2006, the fifth and last test of the Ashes series that Australia swept 5-0. He took 542 wickets in 119 test matches.

Lighter moment: Shane Warne shares a joke with a friend after the service

So in love: Glenn and Jane McGrath