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Roger Vaughan and Oliver Caffrey

Men's Test player award named after Warne

Zinc cream and floppy white hats featured in the MCG crowd as Shane Warne was honoured. (James Ross/AAP PHOTOS) (AAP)

The Australian men's Test player of the year will be named after Shane Warne as cricket continues to honour the iconic leg spinner.

Wide-brimmed white hats and zinc cream were essential on Monday at the MCG as tributes were paid to Warne during the start of the Boxing Day Test against South Africa.

Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers' Association announced during the first session that the men's Test award will now be in Warne's name.

"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," said CA chief executive Nick Hockley.

"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."

The CA annual awards, headlined by the Allan Border Medal and the Belinda Clark women's award, will be held on January 30.

Warne played 145 Tests between 1992-2007 and his 708 wickets were the record until he was passed by Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan.

"Warnie 350" - his Australian Test cap number - was stencilled onto the MCG turf on Monday and members of his family were in the crowd.

Shane Warne is being honoured at the Boxing Day Test. (Joel Carrett/AAP PHOTOS) (AAP)

The crowd also gave him a standing ovation at 3.50pm.

This is the first Boxing Day Test at Warne's home ground since he died suddenly on March 4, aged 52.

While the Australians fielded in their baggy green caps, they and the South Africans lined up in floppy white hats for the pre-game ceremony.

The MCG's Great Southern Stand was renamed after Warne in the wake of his death and his statue has stood outside the ground since 2011.

"This is going to be a really emotional day ... whenever people come to the MCG with the statue there in the background, (they) will remember everything that Shane's done for the game," Hockley said on Monday morning.

Warne revolutionised the game in the 1990s and 2000s with his leg-spin bowling and his Test hat-trick was at the MCG in the 1994 Ashes match.

Warne's "ball of the century" to Mike Gatting in the 1993 Ashes series is an iconic sporting moment.

He was honoured as one of Wisden's five cricketers of the 20th century.

Also significantly, Warne was the only one of the five players not to be knighted.

He was a much-loved larrikin who never captained the Test team, despite being their best player for many years.

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