After Twitterati pay respect to Heath Streak, news of his death turns out to be a rumor

Rumors surfaced on social media that Heath Streak, one of the most pivotal figures in Zimbabwe's cricketing history, sadly passed away at the age of 49 on Wednesday, August 22. However, the former all-rounder confirmed that he is well and truly alive, to spread relief all across the cricketing world.

Streak has been battling liver and colon cancer for quite a while and was in critical condition in South Africa, a few months ago, but is still going strong in his fight against the disease.

Streak made his international debut in 1993 and was entrusted with the responsibility of captaincy in 2000. He led the nation through some turbulent times until he was sacked in 2004 and replaced by Tatenda Taibu.

He announced his retirement from international cricket in October 2005 and represented Warwickshire in England for a while. Streak's last cricketing endeavor marked the Masters Champions League in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where he represented the Leo Lions.

His former teammate Henry Olonga announced the tragic news through a tweet in the early hours of Wednesday.

"Sad news coming through that Heath Streak has crossed to the other side. RIP 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,"' he had written.

It was Henry Olonga himself, who debunked the news surrounding Streak's demise. Through another tweet, he shared a screenshot of his conversation with his former teammate, where he mentions that he is alive.

Fans were glad after hearing that the former cricketer is alive and well and shared their emotions on social media.

Here are some of the reactions on Twitter:

"It is a total rumor and a lie" - Heath Streak

Heath Streak issued a small statement regarding the string of events that transpired across the last few hours. He confirmed that the news of his demise was a rumor and expressed his disappointment with social media, with fake stories spreading like wildfire without any due verification.

Despite his retirement almost two decades ago, he still remains the nations leading wicket-taker in Tests and ODIs. Streak also has several other records to his name, which coupled with his captaincy credentials, make him the arguably greatest-ever player from Zimbabwe to have played the sport.

Zimbabwe cricket has arguably been overturned since his retirement, and the nation is fighting to do its best under the given circumstances. The team's wins over Pakistan at the T20 World Cup 2022 and their triumph over West Indies on home soil in the ODI World Cup qualifiers would have made the former skipper immensely proud.