Photo Credit: Cricket Australia
Cricket Australia (CA) and the Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA) have today announced the Men’s Test Player of the Year will be renamed the Shane Warne Men’s Test Player of the Year at the Australian Cricket Awards on January 30.
Warne played 145 Test matches in a career that spanned from 1992 to 2007 and is Australia’s all-time leading wicket-taker in the five-day format. The announcement was made at the NRMA Insurance Boxing Day Test Match as fans paid tribute to the ‘Spin King’ at his beloved MCG.
The Australian Cricket Awards are held on an annual basis to celebrate the performances of Australian players across national and domestic cricket and is headlined by the Allan Border Medal and the Belinda Clark Award.
Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley said: “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.”
“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.”
Australian Cricket Association CEO, Todd Greenberg said: “I’m proud that the ACA, along with Cricket Australia, is able to recognise the incredible impact Shane had on Test cricket with an award named in his honour.
“While he was a once in a generation player, he was very much a man who understood the important contribution all players made to Australian cricket. He played an important role in the formative years of the ACA and never knocked back an opportunity to promote and grow the game… and once they came, nobody knew how to put on a show quite like Warney – particularly here at the MCG.
“Our thoughts remain with Shane’s family, particularly his children Brooke, Jackson and Summer, and his many, many great friends within cricket.”
