Except you never could, nor ever would. Not here, not at the Melbourne Cricket Ground where Shane Warne is as much maverick as marvellous.

"It did create a little bit of a laugh," Ponting said at the coin toss ahead of the 2006 Boxing Day Test, while thousands filtered in behind him in anticipation of Warne's 700^th Test wicket.

Ponting returns to the venue 16 years later, this time in a commentary box instead of the cordon. And still, some nine months after his death, it beggars belief Warne is not doing the same.

The Australian team returns to the MCG for a Boxing Day Test with a heavy heart after Warne died of a heart attack in Koh Samui in March, aged 52.

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It was here Warne created one of his most magical moments, bowling Andrew Strauss to claim his 700^th wicket in front of 89,155 en route to his 37^th and final five-wicket haul for Australia in Test cricket.

"I feel like I've had about 55 red bulls," Warne said after that first innings. "That 700th, I'm pretty happy with that one. To do it here in Melbourne, I don't know who is writing the script, but it's pretty good."

So it is here Australian and South African players will honour one of the greatest by wearing floppy hats during the opening ceremony of the second Test of their series.

Warne's wide brim and a ball will be placed on a plinth, and the king of spin's Test cap number - 350 - will be painted square of the wicket. Fans will flock through the turnstiles in floppy hats and zinc, wondering what the MCG pitch has in store after a two-day epic to open the series in Brisbane.

At 3.50pm on Monday, a graphic honouring Warne will be shown on the MCG screens. Fans young and old will rise as one; some will have been there to witness Warne's final Boxing Day Test 16 years ago, some will not have been born, yet all will know the enduring value of his legacy.

Few have impacted cricket quite like this leg-spinner with a blend of unprecedented skill and showmanship.

Players from any given generation cannot be fairly compared with those from another - except, of course, if your last name is Bradman.

Or Warne.

Here is the most obvious selection in an all-time Australian XI behind the boy from Bowral. Warne's haul of 708 Test wickets is the biggest in the country's history. Glenn McGrath is the closest contemporary with 563, while Nathan Lyon - who will play a key role against South Africa this week - is third on the list with 454.

When Australian captain Pat Cummins turns to Lyon, the off-spinner will heed Warne's advice: When the ball is in your hand, you control the time and tempo of the game. Realise that, and you play the game on your terms.

Nobody could do that quite like Warne.

The way Warne ignited belief in the Australian cricket team was unlike anything a bowler had done before, and unlike anything anyone could hope to do again.

He made spin bowling cool again, so much so that Australian fast bowler Scott Boland won a competition as a kid for a net session with Warne and took it - even though he wasn't a spin bowler.

They call Lyon the "GOAT".

It's a moniker earned by becoming Australia's greatest off-spinner - but ask the man himself and he'll tell you it feels a little ridiculous.

Because for Lyon, Warne is both the first cricketer whose poster was stuck on his wall and the greatest of all time. There is no debate in his class, like there is in others.

Greg Chappell's flawless style gave him a command at the crease perhaps not even Steve Waugh or Allan Border could match. Chappell's batting average - when including Tests and their World Series equivalent Supertests - was twice that of his team.

Ponting is widely regarded as one of the finest batters the game has seen, the flourish with which Australia's most prolific run scorer nailed a pull shot seemingly unmatched.

The cult of recency would have you believe Ponting is the best since Bradman, yet some of those old enough to have witnessed Chappell would argue otherwise.

Such arguments are purely academic. But when it comes to Warne, the contest is not close. He wins, if not by knockout, then by leg spinner, top spinner, slider or zooter.

It's not just that Warne had every trick in the book. None of that could account for the cunning cricket nous or powerful personality.

That the Boxing Day Test fills the void between Christmas and New Year's - so often a time for reflection - is fitting.

Australian cricket lost some of its greatest characters this year.

Warne, Rod Marsh and Andrew Symonds were all the likeable, old-fashioned kind. Three types with a relatable air about them, gone too soon.

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