Shane Warne memorial: The lovable suburban kid who became a global superstar

When Craig Chambers makes his way into the MCG for the Shane Warne memorial service tonight, he will have spent almost a month sifting through personal memories of a man he describes as «just an all-round good fella».

As a teenager, Chambers was the scorer for Mentone Grammar's 1st Eleven for the 1986-87 season, when Warne led the team to the Associated Grammar Schools cricket premiership.

«I was a sports nuffie and I wanted to be involved,» Chambers says.

Scorers are among the least exulted fixtures of grassroots cricket, but Chambers remembers that Warne «appreciated everyone who was on the journey with him.»

Warne's appreciation went above and beyond.

«They were 65-over-a-side games, and I'd be stuck on the other side of the ground in the scoreboard,» Chambers says.

«Because I've got cerebral palsy, it would have taken me 15 minutes to walk across the ground for lunch.

»Shane would say, 'hang on, I've gotta pick Craig up'. He'd get in his Ford Cortina, drive around the ground to pick me up, and drive back around for lunch. He was making sure I had the most amount of time possible to have lunch. He was a mate's mate. If you were in his circle, you knew it. He didn't think he was better than anyone. He respected me as a scorer and always included me.

«Since finishing school, when he was doing signings of books or DVDs, whenever he saw me he'd make a point of coming over and checking in and connecting about old times and our shared experiences. He was just a very down-to-earth, charismatic person who didn't get ahead of himself.»

Chambers was on a train home from Geelong when he heard the news of his mate's death and it left him in disbelief.

Three days later, a DVD arrived in the mail — Warne's recently-released documentary.

«It