Cricket: Legends have trod the hallowed turf

Shane Warne. Photo / Getty Images.

Clutching a stump and the match ball, Shane Warne gazed up into the masses of people in the stands that seem to reach into the sky at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and gulped, trying to catch his breath.

Even the most hard-nosed and experienced cricketers can be moved by the sheer power and spectacle of a vast crowd at this stadium.

Gathering his emotions, Warne took off his white sunhat and bowed to the crowd. It was adoration all round.

Australia's leading wicket-taker was saying goodbye to Victorian fans in December 2006 as he made a grand farewell tour which ended in Sydney a week later as Australia claimed a 5-0 Ashes sweep.

Warne and fellow Australian bowling great Glenn McGrath were leaving the MCG for the last time, and commentator Richie Benaud described it as one of TV's greatest moments.

After claiming the man-of-the-match award at the MCG, Warne said he thought of himself as an entertainer.

Yesterday across Australia, fans flicked the TV on again to watch the first ball of the Boxing Day test at the MCG.

They were seeking entertainment but they are also creatures of habit. Watching or attending the Melbourne test match is what Aussies do the day after Christmas.

Melbourne's annual test match is the big payday for Cricket Australia.

The home side's form reversal to win last week's third Ashes test in Perth has stirred interest in the MCG test to such an extent that administrators were aiming beyond a world record of 91,000. They got 82,982 but were still happy.

"The cricket gods are smiling on us all. We've got a fantastic set-up for the Boxing Day test match one-all with two matches to play," Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland said.

The biggest crowd at a single day of test cricket was 90,800 at the MCG in February 1961, Australia v West Indies.

Sutherland is banking on 300,000 fans to attend this match over five days.

The MCG hosted the first official test match, between Australia and England in March 1877, with the home side winning by 45 runs.

In a special one-off Centenary test in March 1977, pace demon Dennis Lillee bowled Australia to victory by 45 runs.

Lillee would later claim the wicket-taking world record at the MCG. The great man was so overwhelmed by the crowd's rapturous applause he went to the wrong fielding position at the end of the over and play was held up while teammates yelled instructions over the roar of the crowd.

Like Warne, he found the MCG crowd extremely supportive, and at times mesmerising. Lillee commented that after he had famously dismissed West Indies superhero Viv Richards with the last ball of the first day's play in 1981, the MCG fans were still chanting his name more than an hour after play.

"Lill - eee! Lill - eee!"

A generation later, this chant became "Warn - ie!"

Warne's hat-trick against England in 1994, as the young bottle blond hugged stocky short-leg fieldsman David Boon in celebration, was one for the ages.

Warne's farewell MCG test in 2006 was also against England. The chubby leg-spinner's spontaneous sprint around the field after claiming his 700th test wicket will also stick in the minds of fans.

Don Bradman went okay at the venue, with nine hundreds in 11 Melbourne tests including a masterful 270 in January 1937.

The MCG test of 1981 marked a crucial return of the match to the popular Boxing Day timeslot. Only four of the past 29 MCG tests haven't started on December 26.

Arguably the most memorable of all MCG test hundreds was the performance of Kim Hughes against the might of the West Indies pace attack in 1981 on a difficult batting wicket.

While dashing strokeplay catches the eye, the fans more than anything want to get behind a fearsome pace bowler.

Like they did with Rodney Hogg, who claimed match figures of 10-66 in his first MCG test in 1978 against England. Geoff Boycott didn't know what hit him and the fans loved it.

Australian opener Matt Hayden, who made six hundreds in 10 MCG tests before retiring in January 2009, put it this way.

"The Boxing Day test is like a grand final for us. It's the game every player wants to play," the Queenslander said.

"It's such a great time of the year for everyone. The crowds are big and happy and very appreciative."

- AAP