Heath Streak, a former coach and cricketer for Zimbabwe, died at the age of 49 following a battle with colon and liver cancer.
It was in May this year when it was first announced that the cricket legend had been diagnosed with cancer and was receiving treatment under the care of South Africa’s leading oncologists.
And, only two weeks prior, fake news reports that Streak had passed away were making the rounds online. But his teammate, Henry Olonga, was quick to clarify this information and declare that his friend was “very much alive” on his X (formerly Twitter) account.
This time, however, Nadine Streak, his wife, confirmed the news of his death herself when she posted on her Facebook page on Sunday, September 3, 2023.
She included a few images of their family in her post and captioned them as follows:
“In the early hours of this morning, Sunday the 3rd of September 2023, the greatest love of my life and the father of my beautiful children, was carried to be with the Angels from his home where he wished to spend his last days surrounded by his family and closest loved ones. He was covered in love and peace and did not walk off the Park alone.
Our souls are joined for eternity Streaky.
Till I hold you again ?
The family’s representative and former Zimbabwean international John Rennie also verified the news to Sportstar, stating “He passed away in the early hours of the morning at his farm at Matabeleland. He was surrounded by his family and loved ones. He died peacefully after a long fight with cancer…”
Streak was particularly renowned for his skill as a fast bowler. With 216 wickets at an average of 28.14, he held the distinction of being Zimbabwe’s all-time highest wicket-taker in Test cricket. He also amassed 1990 runs in Test matches, scoring them at a 22.35 average. In ODIs, Streak took 239 wickets at an average of 29.82 and scored 2,943 runs at a 28.29 average. Up to this day, the only bowler from Zimbabwe with over 100 Test and over 200 ODI wickets is Streak.
Following his retirement, he went on to coach a number of international teams, including Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. Apart from this, he also held coaching positions with Somerset in the English county circuit, the defunct Gujarat Lions in the Indian Premier League, the Kolkata Knight Riders in the BPL, and the Afghanistan Premier League.
His career, however, suffered when the International Cricket Council banned him for eight years in 2021 for violating five counts of its anti-corruption code. He accepted the punishment but stated that he was never involved in any activities that attempted to fix the matches.
Nevertheless, Streak remained a prominent figure in Zimbabwean sports throughout the years.