The cricketing world has been hit for six after Heath Streak’s teammate backtracked and said the Zimbabwean cricket great is still alive just hours after telling the world the 49-year-old had died of cancer.
Henry Olonga took to social media on Wednesday to pay tribute to his nation’s ‘greatest allrounder’.
‘Sad news coming through that Heath Streak has crossed to the other side,’ wrote Olonga.
‘RIP [Zimbabwe cricket] legend. The greatest all rounder we produced. It was a pleasure playing with you.
Streak was Zimbabwe’s skipper between 2000 and 2004 and was the first player from his nation to take 100 wickets
In May, Streak was reported to be battling with cancer and receiving treatment
‘See you on the other side when my bowling spell comes to an end.’
However, hours later he took to X – formerly known as Twitter – to deliver some miraculous news.
‘I can confirm that rumours of the demise of Heath Streak have been greatly exaggerated,’ he wrote.
‘I just heard from him. The third umpire has called him back. He is very much alive folks.’
Olonga then shared a message sent to him by Streak after the reports of his death: ‘Very much alive..pse revert this runout IMMEDIATELY buddy.’
The former fast bowler is one of Zimbabwe’s greatest ever cricketers and was the first player from his nation to take 100 wickets.
Streak played 65 Tests and 189 one-day internationals for Zimbabwe, captaining them between 2000 and 2004.
He scored 4,933 international runs, hitting a lone century against the West Indies in Harare, and claimed 445 wickets.
Streak was reported to be battling cancer earlier in the year and has been receiving treatment in South Africa.
Streak’s ex-teammate Henry Olonga backtracked on his earlier report that the cricketer had died of cancer (pictured)
Olonga (pictured playing for his country in 2000) later shared a message from Streak after telling the world ‘the third umpire has called him back’
In 2021, he was banned from cricket for eight years after admitting to several breaches of the ICC’s anti-corruption code.
Streak accepted five charges and his punishment with the ICC in lieu of an anti-corruption tribunal hearing and was barred from any involvement in the sport until March 2029.
The ex-bowler had been under ICC investigation over an extensive list of international and Twenty20 league matches during his post-playing career as a coach, including for Zimbabwe between 2016 and 2018.
The ICC investigation found Streak communicated with an Indian man called ‘Mr X’ during his time coaching Zimbabwe and in T20 leagues across Asia, according to the BBC.
He passed on information on matches and also the contact details of players, including the captain of a national side.
Streak accepted the ban by the ICC but denied the match fixing claims levelled against him.
Streak was banned from cricket for eight years after admitting to several breaches of the ICC’s anti-corruption code in 2021
Streak is the all-time leading wicket taker for his nation in Test cricket with 216 wickets and in ODI cricket with 239 wickets
Zimbabwe captain Sean Williams responded to the first news of his death by tweeting: ‘Streaky. No words can explain what you and your family have done for mine and many others.
‘Our hearts our broken you leave behind a beautiful family and a legacy for us to live up to! You will b missed we love you dearly. Rest in peace Streaky.’
Cricket writer Bharat Sundaresan wrote on Twitter: ‘Nobody embodied the grit, the belief and the ‘we can beat any team anywhere’ attitude of Zimbabwean cricket in the late 90s and early 2000s as much as Heath Streak did—with bat, ball & as captain. 49 is way too young to go. Terribly sad news for the cricket world.’