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Brandon Moyo, [email protected]

IN the sporting world, a captain steers the ship to success and in worst case scenarios goes down the ocean or drain with the team.
Heath Streak, the late Chevrons cricket team captain, was the epitome of captaincy who rode the journey with Zimbabwe Cricket in its best and worst days.

The king of modern day cricket bowled his last yesterday morning after a long battle with colon and liver cancer, plunging the country into mourning.
A fine innings has come to a painful end at 49 and all we can say is; Fare thee well skip, your legacy will live on!
September 3, 2023 will be remembered as the darkest day in the country this year for sports lovers as a colossal figure passed on.

A huge loss for Zimbabwe and the world of cricket and a gain for Heaven’s cricket grounds.
Yesterday morning, the world woke up to sad news that former Chevrons captain and head coach, The “Matabele Bull” Streak is no more.

His wife, Nadine Streak broke the news that Zimbabwe’s champion all-rounder was no more. He is survived by Nadine and four children.
“In the early hours of this morning, Sunday the 3rd of September 2023, the greatest love of my life and the father of my beautiful children, was carried to be with the Angels from his home where he wished to spend his last days surrounded by his family and closest loved ones,” Nadine wrote on her Facebook.

Son of former cricketer, Denis Streak, Heath had been battling cancer for some time and succumbed in the early hours of yesterday.
“Heath has not been well for a while. For almost six months he was battling cancer. He died in the early hours at about 0100hrs,” said Denis.
A patriot, fluent in Ndebele and a true legend of the game, is what Streak was. Loved by all and the tributes pouring in are testimony to that.

His legacy lives on.
Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) chairperson Tavengwa Mukuhlani hailed Streak as a true legend who made immense contributions to the game of cricket.
“This is a very sad day for Zimbabwe and a sad day for cricket as we, on the one hand, mourn the demise of a true great of our beautiful game and, on the other, celebrate the greatness of what Heath gave us: he played with passion, spirit and was nothing less than an inspirational figure who raised our flag high and touched lives within the sport and beyond.

“On behalf of the ZC Board, Management, Players and Staff, I would like to pass our heartfelt condolences to Heath’s loving wife, Nadine, his family, friends and the entire cricket fraternity on the loss of the icon,” said Mukuhlani in a statement.

The cricketing world took to social media to convey their condolences to the Streak family and Zimbabwe at large.
“My heartfelt condolences to Heath Streak’s family and friends. He was a fierce competitor and led Zimbabwe admirably. May God give strength to the bereaved family,” wrote former Indian cricketer, VVX Laxman.

In 2000, Streak made it to the Lord’s Cricket Ground honours board, a feat not many cricketers around the world have achieved, the Home of Cricket will never forget him.

“Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is saddened to learn of the death of Heath Streak. A former captain of Zimbabwe, Heath made the Home Of Cricket Honours Board in 2000 and will always be remembered at the Home of Cricket. Our thoughts are with his family and friends,” said the guardians of the laws of cricket.

“Sad to hear of the passing away of Heath Streak. He was a prominent figure in the rise of Zimbabwe cricket in the late 90s and early 2000s and very competitive. Heartfelt condolences to his family and friends,” said Indian legend, Virendar Sehwag.

Another Indian great, Harbhajan Singh said: “Heath Streak was not only a great cricketer but a fabulous gentleman also. With his demise and that too at such a young age, the cricket world has lost a gem. My deepest condolences to his family and fans. May his pious soul rest in peace.”

Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram said: “Sad to hear about lovely friend Heath Streak’s untimely death at just 49 years of age. I played a lot of cricket against him and liked his fierce competitive nature. On one trip we stayed at his farm house and he was a generous host . . . a thorough gentleman he was, and will be sorely missed. Rest in Peace friend.”

David Coltart: “I am deeply saddened to report that my dear friend Heath Streak died early this morning. He fought a courageous fight. Zimbabwe has lost a truly remarkable patriot. My deepest sympathy is extended to Nadine & their entire family.”

Kevin Pietersen: “RIP Heath Streak. So incredibly sad and heartbreaking. Too young to leave! Rest easy buddy! Thoughts at this very sad time with the Streak family!”

Kumar Sangakkara: “Extremely saddened to hear of the passing of Heath Streak. Love and prayers are with Streaky’s family. So many fond memories of time spent together, none more so than him opening up his home to me to share a Potjie with his family during my first county stint at Warwickshire. A wonderful man and cricketer. Rest well Streaky.”

As a show of tribute, English county side, Warwickshire County Cricket Club wore black armbands yesterday.
Streak lives behind a legacy that will last until the end of time, having played 254 international matches for Chevrons across two formats, One Day Internationals (ODIs) and Tests. In the 50-over format, Streak had 189 caps for Zimbabwe while making 65 appearances in Tests (second most capped player in the format).

He made his debut as a 19-year-old, his playing career spanned 12 years, from 1993-2005. He is Zimbabwe’s leading bowler, with 216 Test wickets and 239 ODI wickets and also the only Zimbabwean bowler to take more than 100 Test wickets and over 200 ODI wickets.

Streak is also the country’s seventh-highest Test run-scorer, with 1 990 runs, and one of the 16 Zimbabwe batters to score more than 2 000 ODI runs, finishing with 2 943.

His unwavering skill to bowl out-swing pace saw him become the first Zimbabwean to reach 100 Test wickets.
He first broke into the senior national side in the 1993/94 Test series against Pakistan just after completing his secondary education at Falcon College in Esigodini, Matabeleland South Province.

He finished with one Test ton and 11 half centuries.
His highest score in the format is 127 runs not out while in ODIs, his highest is an unbeaten 79 runs. He was first appointed Chevrons skipper in 2000 before he resigned and was re-appointed to the role in 2002.

In April 2004 he quit after the Zimbabwe board refused to give him guarantees over selection.
After a bitter stand-off 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.

When he decided to call time on his playing career, Streak went into coaching.
However, his coaching career had always been about playing a supporting role.

He was once the Chevrons’ bowling coach, but it was his stint as bowling coach of Bangladesh that brought him great success. Bangladesh scored some great victories over the likes of South Africa in the one-day game and also whitewashed Zimbabwe in the Test and one-day series during Streak’s time with the Asian side.

Life is full of ups and downs.
In 2021, he was banned for eight years after being charged with, and admitting to, five breaches of the ICC’s anti-corruption code, including accepting payment in bitcoins from a potential corruptor. However, he later said he was not involved in any attempts to fix matches, but admitted to disclosing inside information pertaining to international matches.

Faced with a serious issue, his courage to admit his mistakes was testimony to the depth of his remorse.
He will always be remembered as one of Zimbabwe’s greatest cricketers. — @brandon_malvin