International cricket star Heath Streak dies aged 49 – two years after being banned from all forms of the game for gambling corruption
- Cricket great has died two years after ban
- Zimbabwe sporting great was 49
- Had been getting cancer treatment
The cricketing world has been left in shock with the news that former Zimbabwe captain Heath Streak has passed away after at the age of 49 after a battle with cancer.
The former fast bowler was one of Zimbabwe’s greatest ever cricketers and was the first player from his nation to take 100 wickets.
Streak played 65 Tests and 189 one-day internationals for Zimbabwe, captaining them between 2000 and 2004.
Streak was Zimbabwe’s skipper from 2000 to 2004 and was the first player from the country to take 100 wickets
He scored 4,933 international runs, hitting a lone century against the West Indies in Harare, and claimed 445 wickets.
Streak was reported to be battling cancer earlier in the year and had been receiving treatment in South Africa.
In 2021, he was banned from cricket for eight years after admitting to several breaches of the ICC’s anti-corruption code.
Streak accepted five charges and his punishment with the ICC in lieu of an anti-corruption tribunal hearing and was barred from any involvement in the sport until March 2029.
Ex-Zimbabwe player Henry Olonga took to social media on Tuesday to pay tribute to his nation’s ‘greatest allrounder’.
‘Sad news coming through that Heath Streak has crossed to the other side,’ wrote Olonga.
‘RIP [Zimbabwe cricket] 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.
More to come…
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