Full Name

Heath Hilton Streak

Born

March 16, 1974, Bulawayo

Died

September 03, 2023, Bulawayo, (aged 49y 171d)

Nicknames

Streaky, Stack

Batting Style

Right hand Bat

Bowling Style

Right arm Fast medium

Playing Role

Allrounder

Height

6ft 1in

Education

Falcon College, Zimbabwe

RELATIONS

(father)

A lion-hearted fast bowler with immense stamina and strength, Heath Streak has the ability to bowl outswing at good pace and with excellent control, as he showed at Lord's in 2000 when he was virtually a one-man attack. These qualities made him the first Zimbabwean to reach 100 Test wickets. Streak is also an extremely capable batsman who loves to give the ball a whack over the infield, and a magnificent outfielder with a howitzer-like throw.

He was appointed Zimbabwe captain in 2000, but found that the responsibilities - and tension with the board over pay and quotas - affected his form and he resigned. He was reappointed to the role in 2002 but again found himself in the spotlight as the Zimbabwe side disintegrated in the wake of the country's internal turmoil. He was criticised for not taking a firmer political stand, and the subsequent protest by Henry Olonga and Andy Flower further weakened his standing. He again burdened the bowling - and the batting - in Zimbabwe's disappointing tour of England in 2003. The disintegration of the side and the political turmoil in Zimbabwe made the captaincy increasingly burdensome, and in April 2004 he quit after the Zimbabwe board refused to give him guarantees over selection.

After a bitter standoff with the board, Streak finally returned to the fold in March 2005 and was immediately restored to a struggling side. He was appointed captain of Warwickshire for the 2006 season after signing a two-year contract, but quit the captaincy one match into the 2007 season. While he hasn't completely ruled out a return to Zimbabwean cricket, his contract with the Indian Cricket League, which he signed early in 2008, spelled the end of his international career. In 2009, he was named as Zimbabwe's bowling coach.

A phlegmatic character who was hugely popular with team-mates, Streak was a fluent Ndebele speaker and hailed from a ranching family near Bulawayo. His father, Denis, played for Zimbabwe in pre-Test days.

Streak was diagnosed with advanced liver and colon cancer, and despite receiving specialist care succumbed to the disease in September 2023 at the age of 49.

Heath Streak Career Stats

Batting & Fielding

FormatMatInnsNORunsHSAveBFSR100s50s4s6sCtSt
Tests65107181990127*22.35536937.0611121212170
ODIs18915955294379*28.29400873.4201320348460
FC17526448568413126.31--627--580
List A30924586408990*25.71--014--750
T20s231973335927.75196169.8901261470

Bowling

FormatMatInnsBallsRunsWktsBBIBBMAveEconSR4w5w10w
Tests651021355960792166/739/7228.142.6962.71670
ODIs189185946871292395/325/3229.824.5139.6710
FC175-31117143524997/55-28.762.7662.3-172
List A309-14741109943855/325/3228.554.4738.21210
T20s2320420537243/183/1822.377.6717.5000
Heath Hilton Streak

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Test
ODI

Photos of Heath Streak

Heath Streak watches Chris Mpofu bowl during training
Heath Streak talks with Makhaya Ntini and Lance Klusener in Galle
Nic Pothas, Angelo Mathews and Heath Streak chat at a press conference
Zimbabwe coach Heath Streak addresses a press conference
Zimbabwe coach Heath Streak sets up some markers during warm-ups
Heath Streak watches on