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After news of the passing of Zimbabwean cricketing legend Heath Streak who supposedly lost his battle with cancer at the tender age of 49, broke the internet, it has now been confirmed that the Zimbabwe legend is, in fact, alive.
Henry Olonga, who once paired up with Streak and formed a formidable bowling partnership, initially took to social media to share the sad news. "Sad news coming through that Heath Streak has crossed to the other side," said Olonga on platform X, praising his old friend as the 'greatest all-rounder' that Zimbabwe ever produced.
But then, eight hours after his original tweet, the bowler has now shared a screenshot of his conversation with the bowler, saying, "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."
Heath Streak is one of the most distinguished players in Zimbabwe cricket history. Over his illustrious 12-year career, he participated in 65 Test matches and 189 One Day Internationals (ODIs), often shouldering the responsibility of upholding the cricketing reputation of Zimbabwe almost single-handedly.
Notably, Streak has the distinguished honour of being the sole Zimbabwean cricketer to claim over 100 Test wickets.
The cricketing journey of Streak commenced in 1993 when he made his debut against Pakistan. He swiftly made a mark, claiming a remarkable eight wickets in just his second Test match in Rawalpindi. 2005 saw Streak hanging up his boots, and after captaining Warwickshire for two years up until 2006, he concluded that phase of his career due to form-related concerns. His last sojourn in international cricket was with the Indian Cricket League (ICL) in 2007.
Even after retiring, Streak's passion for cricket remained undiminished. He ventured into coaching, mentoring teams such as Zimbabwe, Scotland, Bangladesh, the Gujarat Lions, and the Kolkata Knight Riders. Tragically, a shadow was cast over his magnificent career when he faced an eight-year suspension by the International Cricket Council (ICC) due to anti-corruption breaches.
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