Heath Streak's Alleged Death Shakes Cricketing World

 Heath Streak's Alleged Death Shakes Cricketing World

Heath Streak's Alleged Death Shakes Cricketing World(Image-Getty)

Regarding the news about Heath Streak, I read a lot, but I was very pleased to find out that the news wasn't true." — Tweet from former Australian cricketer Adam Gilchrist.

Not only Adam Gilchrist, but the entire cricketing world was in mourning after the news of the death of former Zimbabwean captain Heath Streak. Streak's former teammate Henry Olonga's tweet served as a source for Reuters and other major news outlets worldwide, reporting that Streak had succumbed to cancer. However, a few hours later, Olonga deleted the previous tweet and clarified that Streak is alive. He wrote, "The news of death was false."

In his communication with Heath Streak via screenshot messages, Olonga once again wrote, "I am sure the news of Heath Streak's death was false. The third umpire has brought him back. Friends, he is alive."

Following Olonga's tweet, Reuters and British news media retracted the news of Streak's death.

Indian newspaper Mid Day reported that Heath Streak is alive and quoted him as saying that spreading false news of his death was also distressing. On WhatsApp, Streak messaged Mid Day, stating, "It's false. I'm alive, I'm well. I'm very saddened. In this era of social media, such a big news can spread from anyone's end without verification. I believe the source responsible for this news should apologize."

Another former Zimbabwean cricketer, Tatenda Taibu, went to Streak's house on Wednesday morning and took a photo with him. The picture clearly shows that Streak is not in good health.

The main reason behind the false news of Streak's death was his physical condition. In the past month, it was reported that he was battling colon and liver cancer. Due to violation of several provisions of the anti-corruption code, ICC banned him for eight years in 2021.