During the pre-match ceremony of Australia vs South Africa, legendary player Shane Warne was honoured with both teams wearing white floppy hats when walking out for the national anthems. It was a tribute to Warne's trademark look on the field while playing Test matches. To honour Warne in a special way, Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers' Association renamed the country's Test Player of the Year Award as the Shane Warne Men's Test Player of the Year Award.
“As one of Australia’s all-time greats, it is fitting we acknowledge Shane’s extraordinary contribution to Test cricket by naming this award in his honour in perpetuity,” CA chief executive Nick Hockley said.
“Shane was a proud advocate of Test cricket and you only have to look around at all the fans who came out to the MCG in their floppy hats and zinc on Boxing Day to realise what a profound impact he had on the game. The whole cricket community continues to mourn his loss and our thoughts, as always, are with Shane’s family and friends, particularly his children Brooke, Jackson, and Summer,” he added.
Australia's Test Player of the Year award is given alongside the Allan Border medal and the Belinda Clark medal for the women's game, every year.
In his career, Warne scalped 708 Test wickets in the 145 matches played. He won the Test Player of the Year award back in the year 2006. It is the first time a Boxing Day Test is being played at Warne's home ground since his death.
