Everyone, whether they were a rusted-on fan watching in the early hours of an Ashes Test or limited to giveaway tickets on Boxing Day, seemingly has a Shane Warne memory.

That was the magnetism of cricket's greatest performer.

Warne's final years came as I was just finding my interest in Test cricket and he exited just as I began to understand the significance of what he had accomplished.

My most vivid memory is the famous 700^th wicket against England in the 2006 Ashes at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

The first day of a Boxing Day Test can be incredibly difficult for a spinner to find their groove.

When English star Paul Collingwood sweeps Warne to the boundary early on, you can almost see Warne's eyes harden as if Collingwood's awoken the sleeping giant.

Later, Warne stands at the top of his mark, waiting and pausing as Andrew Strauss takes guard.

READ MORE: Thiesfield blitzes the Blues as Lions snarl at home

Even off the television screen, you could hear the ball fizz as it drifts away from the English opener who settles with an on-drive.

The ball dips manically, against the laws of physics, before ripping back to smash the stumps.

The eruption from his adoring home crowd, as they chant his name while his teammates finally engulf a runaway Warne in celebration of the vaunted mark, is unlike anything I'd ever heard.

Nowadays I seldom believe in religion, but this memory feels like the closest I may ever get to worship.

The other is in the early days of the Big Bash as Warne, the face of the Melbourne Stars, looks to dismantle Kiwi powerhouse Brendon McCullum, who is batting for the Brisbane Heat.

Usually the on-field microphones provided a limited, at best, discussion of the game as it unfolds. The new era of PR trained players often reduces the chat to a series of stock standard repetitious lines as commentators fall over themselves guffawing about the insight that has been provided.

Insight which you can often find in the pre-game huddle of a fourth grade game on a Sunday morning.

Not Warne.

McCullum was the powerhouse of the Heat's innings as he sat on 36 off 24 with the Brisbane a touch under 10 runs an over with less than 100 runs required.

Against a set batter, other bowlers may have gone short and let McCullum knock around the field.

Warne ups the ante as he suggests a slider to counteract McCullum's sweep shot which had been a successful option for the Kiwi.

Seconds later, the bails have flown off, McCullum is departed and Warne is celebrating the pay-off of a slider which negated the sweep shot.

READ MORE: JackJumpers believe in future on Launceston and North-West Coast

To me, a layman who routinely watched his deliveries get launched across boundary rope, that was the enthralling part of what Warne did.

He grabbed you and forced you to watch a sometimes tedious game as he launched a fizzing hand grenade at the opposition, all the while executing his masterplan.

Sports are often known by their greatest players, the names of Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan come to mind.

For cricket, that has always been reserved for Don Bradman, but Warne, with his appeal and marketability, transcended that.

The boy from the suburbs of Melbourne made spin bowling fashionable again. He had deals with Nike and he hung out with Jordan in his free time.

Much like Bradman, the mark of his greatness can be distilled into the fact that every young spinner was bandied with the title of the next Warne if they showed a molecule of potential, such was Australia's need to replace the seismic hole he left upon retirement.

Perhaps his brilliance was in his relatability as he straddled the line between the Allan Border era and the increasingly professionalised era in which he ended his career.

What athlete can smash a gobful of fries, slam down a Coke, then proceed to make international calibre batters look like amateurs learning the game for the first time.

That was Warnie, he could do it all ... or at the very least he made you believe he could as a loveable larrikin that embodied the knockabout nature we identified with as Australians.

There was always an element of the unexpected with Warne.

In the days that have followed his passing at 52 in Thailand from a heart attack, tales of his generosity have emerged.

READ MORE: Hillcrest AFL tribute match shows strength of community

Upgrading people into first-class, staying back long after the game was done to sign shirts, providing tips on spin bowling all around the world and organising golf days for touring players.

Australian music act Peking Duk even benefitted from his generosity as he filmed a short opening which was used to open their Australian touring shows.

That was the enigma of S.K. Warne. A celebrity that was in touch with the common man, an unreserved opinionist with one of the game's sharpest minds, a considered great leader of men with an unruly playboy streak.

I, and many others, can never have claimed to personally know or understand Shane Warne.

But such was his persona and charm, his cheeky smile, and the warmth in his voice that you felt like you did.

That the nation did and he was dutifully bowling and entertaining for us.

One thing is certain: there will never be another Warne.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: