Heath Streak, a former Zimbabwe cricketer, was reported to have passed away, but Henry Olonga, a former teammate, confirmed that the 49-year-old is still alive.
Revealing that they had a talk, Olonga wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “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.”
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. pic.twitter.com/LQs6bcjWSB
— Henry Olonga (@henryolonga) August 23, 2023
Interestingly, Olonga was the one who first announced Streak’s death on social media.
“Sad news coming through that Heath Streak has crossed to the other side. RIP legend. The greatest all rounder we produced. It was a pleasure playing with you. See you on the other side when my bowling spell comes to an end,” he had written.
According to information released by Streak’s family in May, he is receiving treatment from one of the most renowned oncologists in South Africa.
After amassing 1990 runs at an average of 22.35 and 216 wickets at an average of 28.14 in Test cricket, Streak resigned from professional cricket in 2005.
Heath scored 2,943 runs and claimed 239 wickets in white-ball cricket.
However, Streak was banned from the sport in 2021 after it was determined that he had broken the International Cricket Council’s anti-corruption rules.
Additionally, he served as a coach for a number of national and international teams, including Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, and the Kolkata Knight Riders.
Between 2000 and 2004, Streak captained Zimbabwe and participated in 189 one-day internationals in addition to 65 Test matches.
