When Anna Kournikova met Shane Warne at Sydney Cricket Ground

Anna Kournikova and Shane Warne

The name of ex-tennis star Anna Kournikova cropped up in Australia's vibrant media coverage of cricket icon Shane Warne's death. The country's well-travelled cricket writer Robert Craddock, who covered Warne throughout his career, revealed on the Follow-On podcast that Kournikova once expressed her desire to meet the high-profile cricketer.

"Anna [Kournikova] was in Australia for the summer and wanted to meet Shane Warne. And out of the blue [she] turned up at training at the Sydney Cricket Ground and heads were turning, cameras were whirring. It was extraordinary," he said.

Cricket may have not been popular in Russia, but Kournikova knew exactly who Warne was and wanted to meet the King of Spin. "We've almost forgotten about how big he was when he was playing," Craddock said.