CA renames Test Player of the Year award in honour of Shane Warne

MELBOURNE : Australia's men's Test Player of the Year award has been renamed to honour legendary spinner Shane Warne, the country's cricket board announced on Monday.

The Shane Warne Men's Test Player of the Year award will be presented annually at the Australian Cricket Awards.

Cricket Australia (CA) chief executive Nick Hockley and Australian Cricketers' Association CEO Todd Greenber, announced the renaming of the award during the Boxing Day Test against South Africa as a tribute to Warne.

He died of a suspected heart attack in Thailand earlier this year. ''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,'' Hockley was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.

''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.''

Warne himself won the award once in 2006 for his record 40 wickets in 2005. This Australian Cricket Awards will be announced on January 30. ''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,'' Greenberg said.

''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 Warnie – particularly here at the MCG,'' he added.