In a mark of great respect and recognition, the Sky Sports commentary box at the iconic Lord’s cricket ground in London was renamed after the late great Shane Warne, who had passed away in March this year due to a heart attack in Thailand.

The leg-spinner enjoyed a remarkably efficacious career for Australia, becoming the first bowler to take 700 wickets in Tests and finishing with 708 wickets across 15 years and 145 Tests. Following success on the pitch, the Australian legend turned to a career in media and became one of the most recognized commentators in the sport.

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Warne often featured as part of the Sky Sports commentary team alongside a number of his old rivals, including Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain.

Therefore, it was fitting that the Sky Sports commentary box at the JP Morgan Media Center at the Lord’s ground was renamed after Shane Warne, which was announced on the official Twitter of the iconic ground.

In the wake of the commentary box tribute, Sky Cricket also confirmed they would be sharing a two-part documentary dedicated to Warne across their coverage of the Test match. The booth was officially opened ahead of day one of the first Test match between England and New Zealand on June 2, by England Managing Director Rob Key.

Paying tribute to the Australian, Sky Sports Director of Cricket Bryan Henderson said: “On the pitch, he was simply the greatest, while off it, he was a wonderful and loyal friend. No words can capture his contribution to the game. But, his magic on the field as well as in the commentary box and in life itself will never be forgotten. We hope our tributes to him during this Test will remind those who witnessed him in action of his greatness as well as hopefully introduce young cricket fans to a cricketing legend.”

Meanwhile, New Zealand captain Kane Williamson won the toss and chose to bat first.

(Mirror UK inputs)