Zimbabwe Legend Heath Streak Dies From Cancer Aged 49

Zimbabwe great Heath Streak has passed away at the age of 49 after fighting courageously with cancer. Heath Streak’s wife Nadine Streak confirmed the heartbreaking news on Sunday (September 3).

She took to Facebook to write an emotional post about her husband and the cricketing legend. A screenshot of the post from Nadine was later shared on X (formerly known as Twitter) by Zimbabwean senator David Coltart. Expressing his disappointment over losing his dear friend, Coltart wrote:

“I am deeply saddened to report that my dear friend Heath Streak died early this morning. He fought a courageous fight. Zimbabwe has lost a truly remarkable patriot. My deepest sympathy is extended to Nadine & their entire family. Attached is her announcement just posted on FB.”

I am deeply saddened to report that my dear friend Heath Streak died early this morning. He fought a courageous fight. Zimbabwe has lost a truly remarkable patriot. My deepest sympathy is extended to Nadine & their entire family. Attached is her announcement just posted on FB. pic.twitter.com/IS95XUMd7U

— David Coltart (@DavidColtart) September 3, 2023

Earlier this year in May, Coltart had revealed that Heath Streak was ‘extremely ill’. Later reports stated that the Zimbabwe legend was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon and liver cancer, and was ‘on his deathbed’. A couple of weeks ago, former Zimbabwe cricketer Henry Olonga had mistakenly announced that Heath Streak died of cancer before issuing an apology.

Heath Streak, Zimbabwe’s greatest:

Heath Streak is arguably the greatest player to represent Zimbabwe in international cricket. The former cricketer plied his trade for Zimbabwe from 1993 to 2005 and retired from international cricket at the age of 31. He is still the only cricketer from Zimbabwe to take more than 100 Test and over 200 ODI wickets.

In Tests, he played 65 matches and picked up 216 wickets with an economy of 2.69. In the ODI format, Heath  represented his country in 189 matches and took 239 wickets. A good allrounder, Heath Streak also made a mark with the bat, scoring 1990 runs in Tests and 2934 runs in ODIs.

After bringing down curtains on his illustrious international career, Heath Streak played in County Cricket before taking up coaching roles with several teams. He served as bowling coach of Bangladesh, Kolkata Knight Riders and Somerset. In 2021, Heath Streak was banned from all cricketing activities for eight years for breaching the ICC’s anti-corruption policies.