Former Zimbabwe captain Heath Streak dies of cancer

Former Zimbabwe captain Heath Streak passed away at the age of 49 on 3rd September 2023. Heath Streak was battling cancer-like illness for a long time. His family confirmed this on social media.

Heath Streak, who played 65 Tests and 189 ODIs for Zimbabwe from 1993-2005, was battling liver cancer for a long time.

Heath Streak's contribution to Zimbabwe cricket:

• In Test cricket, the streak took 216 wickets and scored a century against the West Indies and 11 half-centuries against Zimbabwe.
• In 189 ODIs, he bagged 239 wickets and scored 2,943 runs with 13 fifties.
• Heath Streak is the highest wicket-taker for Zimbabwe by a long margin in both Tests and ODIs.
• In 68 ODIs as captain, he led Zimbabwe to 18 wins and 47 losses, while three ended in a draw. In 21 Test matches, the streak saw the Zimbabwe captain winning four, losing 11 and drawing six.
• He relinquished the captaincy role in April 2004 as the team was going through a challenging phase.

Heath Streak has also had a connection with IPL:

• After his playing days ended, he coached several teams including Zimbabwe and became the bowling coach of the national team, followed by a similar role with Bangladesh.
• Streak was also associated with the Indian domestic cricket team Uttar Pradesh and also worked with Indian Premier League teams Kolkata Knight Riders and Gujarat Lions.
• He also became Zimbabwe's head coach in October 2016 after replacing Dave Whatmore, he was tasked with helping his national team qualify for the 2019 World Cup in England, which they failed to do.
• Streak and his coaching staff, including former South African cricketer and batting coach Lance Klusener, voluntarily gave up a year's salary to help Zimbabwe cricket players meet the challenge of salary cuts.
• In April 2021, Streak was handed an eight-year ban by the International Cricket Council after he was accused of breaching five codes of the ICC Anti-Corruption Code, including a payment in Bitcoin from a potential corruptor.
• Streak accepted "full responsibility" for the breach of the ICC Code but said he was not involved in fixing any matches.