Cricketer Heath Streak Passes Away Days After Hoax Went Viral Online

Zimbabwe cricketer Heath Streak's spouse Nadine Streak confirmed the news about his death.

Fact-check: The claims about former Zimbabwe cricketer Heath Streak passing away are false.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

Former Zimbabwe cricketer Heath Streak passed away on Sunday, 3 September, after a prolonged struggle with cancer, his wife Nadine Streak confirmed.

Earlier in August, X (formerly Twitter) was buzzing with news about Streak's 'demise' after his former teammate Henry Olonga posted about his death.

An archive can be seen here.

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

(Archives of similar claims can be seen here and here.)

Streak dismissed the claims: However, it was found to be false later and The Quint's senior sports correspondent Shuvaditya Bose spoke to Streak himself, who dismissed the rumours of his death.

• "I am very much alive. The reports of my death are stupid and malicious. I don't know who started it and how it spread, but I am doing alright," Streak added.

How did the claim go viral?:

• It was his former teammate Henry Olonga who broke the news about Streak's death on X and has now deleted his post.

• "Sad news coming through that Heath Streak has crossed to the other side. RIP @ZimCricketv 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...," Olonga posted on X.

• There are reports about Streak suffering from cancer and is receiving treatment for the same.

An archive of the post can be found here. 

(Source: X/Screenshot)

But as soon as the rumours of Streak's death started circulating on the internet, Olonga dismissed the rumours and said.

• He shared a screenshot of his latest conversation with Streak and posted that he is 'very much alive'.

• The screenshot showed Streak's reply saying, "Very much alive..pse revert this runout IMMEDIATELY buddy (sic)."

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