Cricket star ‘back from the dead’ after ex-team-mate wrongly announces his death

Zimbabwean cricket legend Heath Streak was incredibly forced to deny he had died after erroneous rumours of his passing rapidly spread.

Streak, 49, reassured fans he was “alive and well” just hours after it was reported that the cricket ace had died, but he admitted the situation has left him “very upset and hurt”.

It has been reported the former Zimbabwe captain and head coach has been receiving treatment for stage-four colon and liver cancer in South Africa.

But a shocked Streak was forced to deny reports of his death while at home with his shaken family after former national team-mate Henry Olonga mistakenly shared his condolences believing his compatriot had passed away.

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In a heartfelt post, the retired fast bowler wrote on social media: “Sad news coming through that Heath Streak has crossed to the other side. RIP [Zimbabwe cricket] legend.

"The greatest allrounder we produced. It was a pleasure playing with you. See you on the other side when my bowling spell comes to an end."

But in a stunning turn of events, Streak revealed he’s alive while also hitting out at the news spreading without proper verification on such an emotional subject.

He said: "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, I believe the source should apologise. I am hurt by the news.”

Streak also told Olonga, via a private message shared by his thankful former player, “Very much alive… pse revert this runout IMMEDIATELY buddy."

To which Olonga replied: “Haha. So good to hear. This thing grew legs quickly. You died overnight brother."

The 47-year-old soon returned to Twitter to say: “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."

Streak, who captained Zimbabwe between 2000 and 2004, retired in 2005 following an illustrious career in which he played 65 Test matches and 189 one-day internationals for his country. He later went on to become Zimbabwe’s head coach in 2016 before resigning in 2018 and stepping back from the limelight.

But his legacy in the sport has since been tarnished after he accepted five charges in 2021 in relation to his coaching career for breaches of the ICC’s anti-corruption code – receiving an eight-year ban from the sport.

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