Shane Warne

Follow along for all the big moments as Australia remembers cricket legend Shane Warne's state memorial service at the MCG.

It was a lot to process and all with the emotion of the evening ever-present. Thanks once more for all your comments and interactions. It was an honour and pleasure to bring this event to you all and I hope the blog helped you take in the service.

Tens of thousands of fans joined sporting legends, celebrities and family members to bid farewell to cricketing great at MCG memorial service.

Warne’s death was the family’s “darkest day”. Days before leaving for Thailand, Warne arrived at her house to pick up his bag with Bryan Adams’ hit Summer of ‘69 blaring from his car. “He was a person who made everybody feel very special. “He was the king bowler, the great bowler – but also the great sledger,” he said. He was always about putting smiles on other people’s faces. He said his father never pressured him to take up cricket and “just wanted him to be happy”.

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“We played Shane Warne, we played the Gatting delivery. “It obviously started with that Gatting delivery all those years ago and it is just that wow moment. “The flipper? “I think in the end (batsman Kevin) Pietersen summed it up pretty well. “I’ll be surprised if you haven’t got the footage of me running down the pitch, very next delivery after that slog sweep,” Hussain said as he laughed. At the time it seemed like a good thing to do because we needed 40 (runs) off 10 overs with seven wickets in hand.

Cricket legend Shane Warne who died suddenly at the age of 52 this month has been fare welled in a star-studded memorial on Wednesday evening.

The service ended with the unveiling of the Shane Warne Stand at the MCG by Warne’s children. Ed Sheeran and a host of former cricketers led the tributes to the Australian cricketing icon at the ceremony at Melbourne Cricket Ground. The Sun reported an audience of 300 million in India watched the memorial, as well as millions in the UK, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

One of Shane Warne's former foes Nasser Hussain has described the legendary legspinner as the greatest cricketer who ever lived. More than 50000 people are ...

"A very loyal friend, and as good as he was in the cricket field, he was five times better off it. "Very loyal, and if he said he was going to do something, he would deliver." "He was just a massive fan and enormous mentor to all St Kilda people." "It was a privilege to be on a cricket field with you - you were the greatest bowler I ever saw." Warne finished his career in 2007 with 708 Test wickets and was named as one of Wisden's five cricketers of the 20th century alongside Don Bradman, Garfield Sobers, Jack Hobbs and Viv Richards. "The greatest cricketer who has ever played the game," Hussain told Fox Sports before the service began. Lara called Warne the "greatest Australian that I know". Hughes recounted a story of Warne memorably honouring a promise for a kindergarten auction and praised his generosity.

Warne died of a heart attack in March, while on holidays in Thailand. The world-class spin bowler was just 52 years old. Tonight he was farwelled by the ...

READ MORE: Remembering the legend that was Shane Warne Iconic Australians Russell Crowe, Hugh Jackman, Kylie and Dannii Minogue, James Packer, Eric Bana, Greg Norman, as well as American surfing legend Kelly Slater, paid tribute to arguably the country's greatest-ever cricketer after Don Bradman. Warne's three children - Brooke, Summer and Jackson - his father Keith and brother Jason also spoke while the Shane Warne Stand, formerly known as the Great Southern Stand, was formally unveiled. Cricket fans packed into the Melbourne Cricket Ground tonight to say their final goodbyes to the late, great cricketer Shane Warne. Follow the events of his memorial service as they happened: (the blog can take a few moments to load) Warne died of a heart attack in March, while on holidays in Thailand. The world-class spin bowler was just 52 years old. His family and friends bid the cricketing legend farewell at a private funeral in Melbourne on March 20.