The Heath Streak death news turned out to be a fake rumor

Former Zimbabwe captain and all-rounder Heath Streak was reported to have passed away after a battle with cancer at the age of 49 on Tuesday, August 22. The 'news,' however, was soon revealed to be fake.

Streak's 'death' was first reported via the social media posts of some of his former teammates. According to Zimbabwe's former minister of education, sport and culture David Coltart, the fast bowler's condition deteriorated in May due to the liver and colon cancer he was battling.

On Tuesday, fellow fast-bowling teammate Henry Olonga took to social media to post on Streak’s 'death' and pay tribute to the great Zimbabwean.

"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," tweeted Olonga.

Streak and Olonga were teammates during Zimbabwe's famous Super Six run in the 1999 World Cup, which included stunning India and South Africa in the league stages.

Current skipper Sean Williams also paid a heartwarming tribute to the legendary cricketer.

"Streaky. No words can explain what you and your family have done for mine and many others Our hearts our broken you leave behind a beautiful family and a legacy for us to live up to! You will be missed we love you dearly Rest in peace Streaky," tweeted Williams.

However, Olonga later clarified via Twitter that Streak was alive and that the news had been "greatly exaggerated."

“I can confirm that rumors of the demise of Heath Streak have been greatly exaggerated. I just heard from him. The third umpire has called him back. He is very much alive folks,” he tweeted.

Streak played 13 years for Zimbabwe from 1993 to 2005 and captained 89 of his 254 matches across formats for the side.

Heath Streak's career at a glance

Streak is Zimbabwe's leading wicket-taker in Tests and ODIs

Heath Streak is the all-time leading wicket-taker for Zimbabwe in Tests and ODIs, with a combined 455 scalps. He is also the only Zimbabwean bowler to cross the 100-wicket landmark.

The 49-year-old was also a valuable lower-order batter, with almost 4,000 international runs - including a Test century against the West Indies.

Streak is also the first and only Zimbabwean cricketer to have achieved the double of 1,000 career runs and 100 wickets in Test cricket and that of 2,000 runs and 200 wickets in ODIs. The all-rounder had seven five-wicket hauls in his red ball career, with his best bowling figures being 6/73 against India in 2005.

Zimbabwe produced arguably their best-ever result ynder Streak's captaincy, beating India by four wickets at home in 2001. Streak also led Zimbabwe in the 2003 World Cup, where they qualified for the Super Six stages for a second consecutive edition.

Following his retirement from international cricket in 2005, the 49-year-old had an extensive coaching career. He donned different coaching roles with Zimbabwe, Scotland, Bangladesh, Gujarat Lions and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).