‘I smoked, I drank, and I played a little cricket’

The service begins with a Welcome to Country by Wurundjeri man Alex Kerr, who tells his own story about meeting Warne.

“Like most of you here tonight, I too have memories of Shane.

“When I was eight years old, I was at the MCG test with my grandfather. I was sitting in the members’ section where the Aussies would run down the race.

“We were batting at the time and we had a rare batting collapse.

“When it was Warnie’s turn to bat, I remember him walking past me.

“His batting stint, though, was quicker than the walkout to the ground.

“But what happened when he got back was just amazing.

“It was dead silent, as Warnie walked up the race. I stood up on my chair and within ear shot I said, ‘Well batted, Warnie.’

“The crowd giggled. Warnie came up to me, rubbed my hair and said, ‘Cheers, little man.’

“Ten minutes later, Warnie came back down and asked me how would I like to spend the rest of the day with the team.

“Of course I said yes. That was an experience that I’ll never forget.”

Kerr said Warne then sent him letters for years just to check in on the young fan.

The welcome ended with a phrase we’ll hear again tonight: “Rest easy, King.”