As it happened Shane Warne memorial: Allan Border, Sir Elton John and Chris Martin among tributes to cricket legend

That was such an emotional evening.

Thanks so much to everyone who joined us for this live blog and to all the people who contributed words, pictures, videos, headlines and corrections. It was a lot to process and all with the emotion of the evening ever-present.

Brooke Warne, Jackson Warne and Summer Warne unveil the Shane Warne Stand.Credit: Joe Armao

It was an honour and pleasure to bring this event to you all and I hope the blog helped you take in the service.

I thought the Warne children paid a rich tribute to their father and did so while under the brightest of spotlights while I loved the ending with the unveiling of the Shane Warne Stand.

Thanks once more for all your comments and interactions. I’m sure there will be more reactions to this enormous event in the days to come so please stay with us and keep checking in.

Bye for now.

Jackson Warne told people before the service that he wanted it to be a celebration of his dad’s life and I hope that last act of unveiling the Shane Warne Stand did just that.

On Boxing Day 1991, then Australian cricket coach Bob Simpson spied then uncapped leg-spinner Shane Warne outside one of the MCG’s many bars, pie in one hand, beer in the other, yarning to his mate Dean Waugh, younger brother of Steve and Mark.

It was far from Warne’s first time at the MCG, but it was the first time he came to some sort of public notice there. It was a fitting and prophetic first impression. Of the many tributes paid to Warne at this state memorial service, the least conscious was a souvlaki van on the MCG forecourt, doing brisk business, and no-one thought it was in the least inappropriate.

Simpson was unimpressed at the time. But neither history nor Warne’s outrageous talent would be denied. The next week in Sydney, he made his Test debut. The next Boxing Day, he not only was playing against the West Indies, but took what would remain his best Test figures at the ground.

Click here to read the story.

Shane Warne’s good friend and fellow St Kilda AFL tragic Eric Bana told the story of Warne’s rise to greatness.

Marta Pascual Juanola filed this story before the service but I didn’t get time to put it up. It’s worth a read now on Warne’s death has hit young fans.

Young cricketer Sam Menner says Shane Warne taught him to “go big” and chase his dreams of becoming a professional player.

The 13-year-old bowler fell in love with cricket watching the “king of spin” play, and now dreams of becoming the captain of the Australian team. He is planning to try out for the Victorian team next season.

Sam Menner, 13, and Beau Menner, 11, outside the MCG before the Shane Warne memorial.Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui

“I was watching Shane Warne and how he span the ball, and I thought I could do,” he said.

“It was really hard”.

Sam said he broke down in tears upon hearing of the cricket great’s passing.

“You never want to see someone die. It was shocking,” he said.

“To never hear his voice commentating again will be very sad. He’s at the heart of cricket. There’s no cricket without Shane.”

Towards the end of 1993, the year that turned Shane Warne into the legendary figure befitting a memorial in front of more than 50,000 people at the MCG, he and Tim May spun Australia to an innings victory over New Zealand in Hobart.

Nothing unusual about that given his prodigious gifts; apart from the fact that on the penultimate night of the Test match, Warne and May went out on the town and did not get home until about 4am.

They spun quickly through the remaining tourists the next morning, eluding the wrath of captain Allan Border. So began a cricketing life of pattern of big nights and big performances that Warne’s cricket contemporaries marvelled about in their tributes on a night created entirely in his honour.

Click here to read the story.

English superstar Ed Sheeran has performed his much-loved song Thinking Out Loud as it was one of Shane Warne’s favourite songs.

The service is ending on a high with the unveiling of the Shane Warne Stand.

The sign has been under a black cloth all night but the three Warne children just rolled it up to show the new name.

Shane Warne’s children unveil the new Shane Warne Stand at the MCG at the conclusion of the service on Wednesday evening.Credit: Joe Armao

MC Eddie McGuire introduced the unveiling with some poignant words.

“Now every time we look into the Great Southern Stand we will think of Shane,” McGuire said.

“For Warnie offered hope and excitement, grit and determination, fun and memories. It is the stand of the people. It is the Shane Warne Stand forever.”

The service has ended with Frank Sinatra’s My Way.

Brooke Warne has described the similarities between herself and her father.

“My dad taught me resilience and strength in so many ways, to always stand up for ourselves and what we believe in, to always try our hardest at everything we do,” Brooke said.

“He would always tell us – since we were little – to be polite, manners are free, they cost nothing. And they will always leave such an impact. Little things over the years I will forever be so grateful for. It doesn’t seem right that I won’t be able to hear him say: ‘Just do it, Brookester! Tell them how you feel. Try harder’.

“We would get on each other’s nerves, but it was because we were both so similar, so passionate and cared so deeply. We most of all had to be right. We were both so stubborn and never wanted to back down. We had our differences, but at the end of the day, we just wanted to love each other and we did. So much.

Brooke Warne.Credit: Joe Armao

“I wanted the best for Dad and he wanted the best for me. My dad just wanted to be the best dad he could be. He would always want to play games, take us to parks, watch movies and chill around the house. At the end of the day, he just wanted to be our dad.

“He wanted to be a part of our lives in every possible way.”

Jackson Warne says he will miss the simple fun he had with his father.

“It feels just like yesterday that we were looking at each other’s cards playing poker and eating pizza while watching the Saints,” Jackson said.

“I’ll never forget how much fun we had doing simple things, grocery shopping, watching movies or going for walks during lockdown.

“We didn’t have to do much to be happy. Life was so easy and peaceful with you in it. You never pressured me into playing cricket and all you ever wanted for me was to be happy.

“You watched me for hours and hours building Lego. You would play Super Smash Bros. with me. We would play Monopoly and you could give me a chance to win – we were both so happy.

Jackson Warne.Credit: Joe Armao

“In one of the first games of cricket I ever played, you told me, ‘Just go out there and have fun because when you’re happy, good things will happen.’ So that was the mindset I had for that game. I ended up taking a hat-trick and that’s a memory I will never forget.”