Ex-Zimbabwe cricketer Heath Streak dies at 49

Former Zimbabwe cricketer Heath Streak passed away during the early hours of Sunday. The cricketer was 49 years old. Streak was battling liver cancer for a long time, according to media reports. The news of Heath Streak’s death was confirmed by his wife Nadine Streak in a Facebook post.

Nadine wrote in her post that Heath Streak wished to spend his last days surrounded by his family and closest loved ones. 

“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 (sic),” she said in her Facebook post.

The development comes more than a week after reports of Streak’s death due to cancer started circulating on social media platforms. Former cricketers such as Anil Kumble and Adam Gilchrist had tweeted for him. Later, his former teammate Henry Olonga confirmed that Streak was indeed alive. On May 2023, Zimbabwean senator David Coltart announced that Streak was ‘extremely ill’.

Commenting on his death rumours, Streak said that he was alive and well but ‘hurt’ by the false news of his death on social media. "It is a total rumour and a lie. I'm alive and well. I am very upset to learn that something as big as someone apparently passing can be spread unverified, especially in our day and age of social media," Streak was quoted as saying by Mid-Day.

Part of the ‘golden era’ of Zimbabwean cricket between 1997-2002, Heath Streak was the first and only Zimbabwean bowler to have taken over 100 Test wickets and one of only four Zimbabwean bowlers to have taken over 100 ODI wickets. He was also the first and only Zimbabwean to complete the double of 1,000 career runs and 100 wickets in test cricket as well as the first and only Zimbabwean to complete the double of 2,000 runs and 200 wickets in ODIs.

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