Added to that list is the name of Warne, one of the best spinners of all time. “There can’t be a better tribute to Warne, one of Australia’s greatest cricketers of all time,” said Nick Hockley, head of the Australian Cricket Board. Warne’s contribution to Test cricket will now be awarded the Test Cricketer of the Year award. ’

The Melbourne Cricket Ground was Warne’s home ground. It was at this ground that Warne took his 700th wicket in Tests. At the same time, he also scored a hat-trick in the Ashes at this ground. “There couldn’t have been a better moment to honor one of Australia’s greatest cricketers. So we made this announcement before the Boxing Day Test. ’

Warne died in March this year at the age of 52 on Koh Samui island in Thailand. Two months after his death, the Southern Gallery of the MCG was renamed ‘Shane Warne Stand’. Cricket Australia has taken various initiatives around the Boxing Day Test to remember Warne. Among them was to remember Warne after his famous hat. Before the start of the game, the Aussie and Proteas cricketers wore Warne’s ‘floppy hat’. The audience present in the gallery also had the same hat on his head.