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Age: 49 Years
Wife: Nadine Streak
Death Cause: Colon Cancer
Some Lesser Known Facts About Heath Streak
- Heath Streak was a former Zimbabwean cricketer and cricket coach who performed for and captained the Zimbabwe nationwide cricket group. He was recognized for being one of the best bowler to have performed for Zimbabwe. He was a Zimbabwe Test and ODI cricketer from 1993 to 2005, throughout which he performed 65 Tests and 189 ODIs. From 2000 to 2004, he was the Test captain of Zimbabwe. He held the file for probably the most wickets ever taken by a Zimbabwean participant in Test cricket with 216 wickets and in One Day International (ODI) cricket with 239 wickets. In home cricket, he performed for Warwickshire County from 2004 to 2007. He coached the Zimbabwe males’s group from 2009 to 2013 and from 2016 to 2018. In April 2021, he was handed an eight-year ban for breaching the ICC anti-corruption code. On 23 August 2023, it was reported that Streak had died of most cancers, nevertheless, former teammate Henry Olonga quickly confirmed that Streak was alive.
- He was born right into a family whose background primarily concerned ranching in Bulawayo. After Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980, Robert Mugabe turned the primary black president. At first, issues went nicely, particularly in farming. Zimbabwe was known as “Africa’s breadbasket” as a result of it produced a whole lot of meals. In 2000, the Mugabe authorities began taking land from white farmers and giving it to black individuals in a land reform program. The Streaks, who had been white farmers, misplaced greater than 70% of their land within the land reform program. Their farm, which they began in 1996, used to cowl 40,000 acres of land close to Bulawayo and had over 600 cattle. Eventually, they had been left with solely 12,000 acres of land. They didn’t prefer it at first, however later they understood why it needed to occur and that they’d to surrender a few of their wealth.
- Growing up, he was launched to cricket by his father, Denis Streak, a first-class cricketer who performed for Zimbabwe when it was nonetheless known as Rhodesia.
- Streak’s ardour for cricket was fueled by his grandmother who lived in Australia. She would ship him video recordings of the Kerry Packer Series, a business skilled cricket competitors staged between 1977 and 1979. He talked about the identical in an interview and stated,
I watched a whole lot of the Packer Series as a teen. My grandmother lived in Australia and she or he used to ship me a number of video recordings of all of the video games. Channel Nine. I grew up watching the Lillees, the Thomsons, Imran Khan, Hadlee, Marshall. They had been my inspirations.”
- At college, he acquired coaching from the ex-Test participant Bob Blair, who had performed for New Zealand. Later, he acquired teaching from Rodney Hogg and Bruce Reid.
- In the early Nineteen Nineties, Heath Streak obtained married to Nadine Streak. Together, they’d three youngsters, a son, Kevin, and two daughters, Holly and Charlotte. The couple has an adoptive son, Harry. Holly is married to Sam Cook.
- Streak made his first-class debut for Zimbabwe B on 30 March 1993 in a match in opposition to Kent County Cricket Team at Harare Sports Club. He additionally performed his first List A match across the similar time.
- Streak made his Test debut in opposition to Pakistan on 1 December 1993. He gained recognition in worldwide cricket by claiming 8 wickets through the 2nd Test in Rawalpindi (December 9-14, 1993). Streak’s exceptional efficiency with the ball, securing a complete of twenty-two wickets at a mean of 13.54, earned him the Player of the Series award in his debut take a look at collection. This achievement additionally marked the best variety of wickets taken by a Zimbabwean bowler in a take a look at collection.
- In 1995, throughout Pakistan’s go to to Zimbabwe, Streak bettered his greatest bowling figures when he took 6 wickets for 90 runs within the first Test at Harare. This spectacular efficiency helped Zimbabwe win the match by an inning.
- On 13 January 1996, in a Test match in opposition to New Zealand in Hamilton, he turned the quickest Zimbabwean bowler to succeed in 50 Test wickets, reaching this in simply 11 matches.
- He performed in his first-ever World Cup within the 1996 Cricket World Cup.
- In 1995/96, Streak performed for the Matabeleland group alongside his 46-year-old father, Denis, within the remaining of the Lonrho Logan Cup in opposition to Mashonaland Country Districts. This was the primary time in over thirty years {that a} father and son performed collectively in the identical skilled cricket match. Together, they helped their group win the Lonrho Logan Cup by defeating the Mashonaland Country Districts group.
- He was additionally a member of Zimbabwe’s squad that completed fifth within the males’s cricket competitors on the 1998 Commonwealth Games.
- Streak was within the Zimbabwean group that received its first Test match in opposition to Pakistan on Pakistani soil in 1998.
- He was additionally a part of the Zimbabwean group that reached the Super Sixes stage for the primary time within the 1999 Cricket World Cup. One of the highlights of Streak’s profession was Zimbabwe’s victory in opposition to South Africa within the 1999 World Cup.
- On 11 June 1999, he turned the primary in addition to the quickest Zimbabwean bowler to take 100 ODI wickets.
- In 2000, he was appointed because the captain of the Zimbabwe aspect for each take a look at and ODI codecs.
- In the 2000/2001 season, he acquired two prestigious Man of the Series awards. First, throughout Zimbabwe’s tour of England, after which once more throughout Bangladesh’s tour of Zimbabwe.
- In 2000, Streak made historical past as soon as extra as the primary Zimbabwean take a look at participant to safe a spot on the famend Lord’s Honours board for his spectacular efficiency, which yielded figures of 6-87 in opposition to England.
- Under his captaincy, Zimbabwe delivered an upset victory in opposition to India in a take a look at match in 2001 at dwelling. Zimbabwe had its first-ever take a look at win in opposition to India by 4 wickets.
- During the 2001 Australia Tri-series, his bowling efficiency of 4/8 in a One Day International (ODI) in opposition to West Indies performed a pivotal position in Zimbabwe’s 47-run victory in a low-scoring recreation.
- On 4 February 2001, he achieved a big milestone by turning into the primary Zimbabwean bowler to succeed in 150 ODI wickets throughout a match in opposition to Australia.
- In July 2001, throughout a Test match in opposition to West Indies in Harare, Streak and Andy Blignaut shaped the best seventh-wicket partnership for Zimbabwe in Test cricket, amassing 154 runs.
- On 7 October 2001, in a match in opposition to England, his partnership with Andy Flower led to setting the best seventh-wicket partnership for Zimbabwe in ODIs, with a complete of 130 runs.
- During his time as captain, he had disputes with the cricket board overpayment and participant quotas, which led to his resignation from the captaincy in 2001. However, he was reappointed as captain in 2002, following which he was once more underneath scanner and highlight within the wake of Zimbabwe’s political disaster.
- He led the Zimbabwean group within the 2000 ICC KnockOut Trophy and the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy.
- He additionally captained the group within the 2003 World Cup, which was spoiled by political unrest in Zimbabwe.
- On 23 June 2003, he turned the primary Zimbabwean bowler to assert 200 ODI wickets throughout a match in opposition to England.
- In 2004, Streak joined the Warwickshire County Cricket group. On 8 July 2004, he made his debut within the T20 format for Warwickshire, taking part in in opposition to Glamorgan at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff, Wales.
- With 1990 runs in Test matches and 2934 runs in ODIs, he was thought of probably the most profitable Test skipper and the second-most profitable captain of Zimbabwe in ODIs.
- In 2004, 13 gamers, together with captain Heath Streak, determined to not take part within the one-day and take a look at collection attributable to a disagreement about group choice. This rise up by the gamers occurred as a result of the Zimbabwe Cricket Union (ZCU) had introduced that Streak had give up cricket. The ZCU claimed that he resigned as a result of the board didn’t agree along with his demand concerning the composition of the selectors’ group. However, Streak’s father denied that his son had really resigned. Streak was unexpectedly sacked from the group by the Zimbabwe Cricket Union as a result of he was concerned in rebellious actions. Tatenda Taibu took over his position because the captain.
- In the identical 12 months, Streak made headlines for revealing that he was going through moral dilemmas because the captain of Zimbabwe. He stated that he had acquired instruction to falsely inform white gamers that they lacked expertise and had been to get replaced by black gamers.
- After a one-year absence from worldwide cricket, Streak returned to symbolize Zimbabwe in March 2005. However, ongoing conflicts inside Zimbabwean cricket led Streak to finish his worldwide cricket profession in October 2005 when he selected to develop into the captain of Warwickshire on a two-year contract beginning in 2006. Even although Zimbabwe Cricket supplied him a brand new contract, he declined it. However, in 2007, Streak resigned from his place as Warwickshire’s captain after collaborating in only one Championship match that season. He talked about that being the captain was impacting his particular person efficiency. Darren Maddy took over his position as captain.
- In 2007, he represented the Ahmedabad Rockets within the controversial Indian Cricket League (ICL). This league didn’t have the approval of the Board of Control for Cricket in India and the International Cricket Council. As a consequence, the BCCI imposed bans on all gamers concerned within the ICL, resulting in the league’s closure in 2009.
- In August 2009, Streak took on the position of the bowling coach for the Zimbabwe nationwide cricket group. Under his steerage, quick bowlers reminiscent of Kyle Jarvis, Christopher Mpofu, Brian Vitori, and Shingirai Masakadza acquired teaching and improvement. These gamers later turned common members of Zimbabwe’s nationwide group. In May 2014, he was employed as Bangladesh’s bowling coach on a two-year contract that lasted till 2016.
- In 2014, he began the Heath Streak Academy (also referred to as Old Mutual Heath Streak Cricket Academy Trust). Its purpose was to assist cricket develop and enhance in Zimbabwe. However, in 2021, he stepped down as the top of the Trust as a result of the International Cricket Council (ICC) banned him from cricket for eight years. Afterwards, they modified the academy’s identify to the Zimbabwe Youth Cricket Academy.
- In July 2016, he took on the position of a marketing consultant on the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association Academy.
- In October 2016, Streak changed Dav Whatmore as the top coach of the Zimbabwe nationwide cricket group.
- During Streak’s teaching tenure, Zimbabwe didn’t carry out nicely, they usually couldn’t qualify for the 2019 World Cup after a disappointing displaying within the 2018 ICC World Cup Qualifier. As a consequence, Streak was compelled to resign in early 2018, and all the teaching workers was dismissed by the board.
- In the aftermath of Zimbabwe’s disqualification from the 2019 World Cup, the chairman of ZC, Tavengwa Mukuhlani, stated that Streak was being racist when speaking to reporters from Daily News and NBC. As a consequence, Streak filed a lawsuit in opposition to Mukuhlani, asking for $1 million as a result of he believed Mukuhlani’s feedback harmed his popularity.
- On 20 September 2018, Streak submitted an utility to the High Court in Harare asking for Zimbabwe Cricket to be liquidated to ensure that it to pay its money owed. He accused the board of “illegally” terminating his contract and people of his teaching workers. He claimed that the organisation was being run in a “reckless and negligent manner,” and demanded it to be declared bancrupt. The utility listed detailed the cash owed to him and the opposite workers members, who had been all dismissed following their failed World Cup qualifying marketing campaign in March.
- He served as a bowling coach for the Gujarat Lions franchise within the 2016 and 2017 IPL seasons.
- In 2018, he was appointed as a marketing consultant for the Scotland cricket group for 2 matches in a T20I tri-series that concerned Ireland and Netherlands.
- In 2019, he briefly labored as a marketing consultant bowling coach for Somerset County Cricket Club.
- In 2021, Kolkata Knight Riders introduced Streak on board as their bowling coach.
- In the identical 12 months, Streak was banned from all cricketing actions for eight years after he breached the ICC’s anti-corruption insurance policies.
- After retiring from cricket, Heath Streak labored on his family’s farming and safari enterprise, The Robins Farms and Enthokozweni Safaris.
- Streak isn’t concerned in politics a lot. He by no means criticises the governments of Robert Mugabe and Emmerson Mnangagwa for Zimbabwe’s political turmoil. He didn’t even be part of Andy Flower and Henry Olonga once they protested in opposition to the decline of democracy in Zimbabwe by carrying black armbands through the 2003 World Cup. In truth, he solely discovered about their plan on the morning of the match, after the sport had already begun.
- On 13 May 2023, a Zimbabwean senator named David Coltart revealed that Streak was very sick. Many information retailers stated that Streak had been identified with Stage 4 colon and liver most cancers, and his situation was very important. On 22 August 2023, rumours of Streak’s dying surfaced on the web when Zimbabwean cricketer Henry Olonga tweeted,
Sad information coming via that Heath Streak has crossed to the opposite aspect. RIP Zimbabwe cricket legend”
- Hours later, Olonga posted one other tweet confirming that Streak was alive and nicely. She tweeted,
I can verify that rumours of the demise of Heath Streak have been tremendously exaggerated. I simply heard from him. The third umpire has known as him again. He could be very a lot alive people. pic.twitter.com/LQs6bcjWSB
— Henry Olonga (@henryolonga) August 23, 2023
- Streak often consumed alcoholic drinks.