Heath Streak not dead: Olonga's post sparks confusion

Hours after announcing Zimbabwe cricketer Heath Streak's death on X, his former teammate Henry Olonga said in a second post that the legend is alive, reports NDTV.

Henry Olonga said in his new post that "rumours of Streak's death were greatly exaggerated" and that he had heard from him. Speaking to Mid-Day, Streak even confirmed that he was hurt by the rumour.

"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," Olonga's new tweet read.

It was his tweet this morning, now deleted, that triggered reports and messages on Heath Streak's “demise”. A number of Zimbabwe and other international cricketers had taken to X (formerly Twitter).

"Sad news coming through that Heath Streak has crossed to the other side. RIP @ZimCricketv legend. The greatest all rounder we produced. It was a pleasure playing with you. See you on the other side when my bowling spell comes to an end...," Olonga posted.

Streak is one of the most decorated cricketers of his time, representing Zimbabwe in 65 Tests, 189 ODIs while scoring 4933 runs and taking 455 wickets for his country across formats. Streak, till date, remains the only player from Zimbabwe with a double of 1000 runs and 100 wickets in Tests and 2000 runs and 200 wickets in ODIs. A number of his records still inspire cricketers, not just in Zimbabwe but across the world.

Streak, who was diagnosed with colon and liver cancer, saw his condition deteriorate in May, prompting his family to hospitalise him immediately. Some of his teammates took to X (formerly) Twitter to post the news of his demise. Former Zimbabwe pacer Henry Olonga earlier took to 'X' to share the news.

Streak's family had earlier confirmed that he was battling cancer and undergoing treatment.

"Heath has cancer and is undergoing treatment under one of the most respected oncologists in South Africa," his family said in a statement at the time.

"He remains in good spirits and will continue to fight this disease in a similar vein to that which his opponents faced during his revered days on the cricket field."

/KN/