Hours after tweeting about Zimbabwe cricket legend Heath Streak's death due to cancer, former teammate Henry Olonga clarified that the 49-year-old is “very much alive”.
In a now-deleted tweet on X (formerly Twitter), Olonga had said, “Sad news coming through that Heath Streak has crossed to the other side. RIP Zimbabwe cricket legend. The greatest all-rounder we produced. It was a pleasure playing with you."
However, hours later, he posted another tweet with a screenshot of a WhatsApp message from Streak, clarifying that the former Zimbawean all-rounder was alive.
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
Streak is the all-time leading Test wicket-taker for Zimbabwe, with 216 scalps. He scored 1,990 runs in 65 Tests between 1993 and 2005. He also played in 189 One-Day Internationals, scoring 2,943 runs and taking 239 wickets.
After retiring from active cricket, Streak served as Bangladesh coach and was the bowling coach of twice Indian Premier League champions Kolkata Knight Riders. In 2021, he was handed an eight-year ban from the sport after admitting breaches of the International Cricket Council's anti-corruption code. He took "full responsibility" for his actions but said he was never involved in any attempts to fix matches.
