Heath Streak, the former Zimbabwe cricketer, is alive. Hours after Streak’s former teammate Henry Olonga posted about his ex-captain’s demise, the pace bowler-turned-singer shared another message confirming otherwise. Olonga shared a screenshot of his WhatsApp conversation with what appears to be with Streak, who wrote that he is ‘very much alive’ and requested Henry to take down his previous update.
“I can confirm that rumours of the demise of Heath Streak have been greatly exaggerated. I just heard from him. The third umpire has called him back. He is very much alive folks,” Olonga wrote on X.
A couple of leading Zimbabwe websites, along with captain of the Zimbabwe cricket team Sean Williams were among the first to share the hoax that was Streak’s death, following which several members of the cricketing fraternity joined in, including India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. He was accompanied by the likes of VVS Laxman, Virender Sehwag, Anil Kumble and more. IPL franchises Chennai Super Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Mumbai Indians too paid their condolences. All of them later took down their posts.
A look back at Heath Streak’s career
The former Zimbabwe captain represented the country in 65 Tests and 189 ODIs. He still continues to be Zimbabwe’s all-time highest wicket-taker in both Tests and ODIs. The former right-arm pacer has 216 wickets in Tests and 239 in ODIs.
Streak is the first Zimbabwe cricketer to claim 100 wickets in both Tests and ODIs. He is also the only Zimbabwe cricketer to complete the double of 100 Test wickets and 1000 Test runs and the only one from the country to score 2000 runs and claim 200 wickets in ODIs.
The gutsy all-rounder, who was a good exponent of the new ball, could also give the ball a whack in the lower middle order. His 1990 Test runs with a best of 127* and 2943 runs in ODIs at an average of 28.29 is proof of that.
Streak made his Test and ODI debut in the same year in 1993 and after consistent performances with both bat and ball, was appointed captain of the side in 2000. He created history by registering Zimbabwe’s first-ever overseas Test series win by leading the side to a 2-1 victory against New Zealand in 2001. His road as captain, however, was never smooth.
Tension between senior players and the board regarding player quotas prompted him to resign from captaincy only to be reinstated in 2002. He was faced with a new challenge as senior players, including Olonga, went on a protest against the Zimbabwe government. Streak again quit captaincy in 2004 after a fallout with the board.
Streak came back in 2005 and played his last Test against India in September of that year before signing for English county side Warwickshire. He was named the bowling coach of the Zimbabwe side in 2009. He held the position till 2013. His second stint as part of the Zimbabwe side’s support staff was between 2016 and 2018. He also served as the bowling coach of IPL side Kolkata Knight Riders in 2018.
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