In a surprise move, former Zimbabwe pacer Henry Olonga has confirmed that legendary all-rounder Heath Streak is alive and the rumours of his death 'have been greatly exaggerated' after deleting his post on the latter's death.
"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 wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
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. pic.twitter.com/LQs6bcjWSB
— Henry Olonga (@henryolonga) August 23, 2023
Earlier, Olonga was the first person to break Streak's death news on X which he has now deleted after having a chat with the former all-rounder. Olonga shared the screenshot of his chat with Streak where the latter requested him to retract the death post immediately saying 'very much alive'.
Olonga was joined by Zimbabwe's captain Sean Williams, who also extended his condolences to the former cricketer's demise. Indian cricketers including Ravichandran Ashwin, Anil Kumble, VVS Laxman, Aakash Chopra and Virender Sehwag also reacted to the news and extended their heartfelt condolence to Streak's family.
Streak is an instrumental figure in Zimbabwe cricket and is one of the best cricketers produced by the country. He is regarded as one of the finest all-rounders to ever play the game.
Streak has played 65 Tests and 189 ODIs for Zimbabwe and still remains the highest wicket-taker for the country in both formats with 216 wickets in Tests and 239 scalps in ODIs.
He is the first Zimbabwe bowler to reach the three-figure wicket tally in Tests and ODIs. On the batting front, he scored 1990 and 2943 runs in Tests and ODIs respectively. He is the only Zimbabwe player to complete the double of 100 wickets and 1000 runs in both Tests and ODIs. He has scored one century and 24 fifties in his career.