Emotional tributes pour in at Shane Warne's memorial service

Rivals and teammates fondly remembered their time on and off the field to celebrate the life of legendary legspinner Shane Warne at the state memorial service held at the Melbourn Cricket Ground (MCG) on Wednesday.

Australian greats Glenn McGrath, Michael Clarke, Brett Lee, Allan Border alongside Nasser Hussain and Brian Lara were among the attendees as Warne's children - Brooke, Summer and Jackson - formally unveiled the South stand named after him.

Former England captain Hussain, who has had memorable run-ins with Warne during his career, described him as "The greatest cricketer who has ever played the game, unbelievable cricketer and bloke."

"I sledged him for some apparent reason and I've said something 'like enjoy your last game as captain'," Hussain said during the service. "I'll be surprised if you haven't got the footage of me running down the pitch, very next delivery after that slog sweep and getting stumped."

In an interaction with Fox Sports, Hussain joked "it was not a pleasure to face Shane on the pitch." 

Former Australia captain Allan Border reminisced, how Warne's arrival in 1992 offered a new leash to his concluding career.

"It revitalised my captaincy towards the end of my time. I was lucky to have two years with Shane and I just thank him for that," Border said of Warne, who finished with 708 Test wickets at a stunning average of 25.4.

West Indies great Brain Lara described Warner as "greatest Australian that I know" as the current members of the Australian cricketers attended the service online from Pakistan.

The event also had musical acts from Elton John, Ed Sheeran and Jon Stevens among others.