Former Zimbabwean cricketer Henry Olonga has put to rest the speculations surrounding the supposed demise of fellow cricketing legend Heath Streak. Hours after tweeting about Streak's death, Olonga shared that Streak is indeed alive and well, contradicting his earlier tweet. Olonga took to Twitter to share the update. He stated, "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. "Sad news coming through that Heath Streak has crossed to the other side. RIP Zimbabwe cricket legend," Olonga had earlier posted on messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter. Alongside this reassuring message, Olonga also shared a screenshot of his recent conversation with Streak on WhatsApp. It is imperative to note that these conflicting reports may have caused confusion and concern among cricket enthusiasts.
The 49-year-old announced his retirement at the age of 31, in 2005. Streak still remains the only Zimbabwe bowler with more than 100 Test and over 200 ODI wickets. He captained Zimbabwe in 2000, at a time when a number of players withdrew from the national side as relations between the board and the team hit a rough patch. In his decorated career Streak played 65 matches and picked up 216 wickets with an economy of 2.69. In the ODI format, Streak featured in 189 matches, scalping 239 wickets at an economy of 4.51. His best bowling figures were 5-32. With the willow, Streak amassed 1,990 runs in the red-ball format, at an average of 22.4. He featured in 65 Tests for his country. In ODIs, Streak aggregated 2,934 runs at a strike rate of 73.4 and an average of 28.3.In 1993, Streak marked his arrival in the world of cricket with a stellar performance against Pakistan, picking up 8 wickets in only his second Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi. Seven years later, Streak was appointed as the Zimbabwe captain but he ended up resigning as the responsibilities and tension with the board over the pay started to affect his form. Though he was reappointed skipper in 2002, there was increasing pressure on him to take a political stand at the height of a civilian uprising against the then regime under long-time President Robert Mugabe.
