Heath Streak

Heath Streak

Personal information
Batting style	Right hand bat
Bowling style	Right arm fast medium
Career statistics
Competition Tests ODIs Matches 65 189 Runs scored 1990 2943 Batting average 22.35 28.29 100s/50s 1/11 0/13 Top score 127* 79* Balls bowled 2259.5 1578.0 Wickets 216 239 Bowling average 28.14 29.82 5 wickets in innings 7 1 10 wickets in match 0 n/a Best bowling 6/73 5/32 Catches/stumpings 17/- 46/-
Source: Cricinfo, 7 December 2005

Heath Hilton Streak (born 16 March 1974, in Bulawayo) is a former Zimbabwean cricketer. He made his Test debut in Zimbabwe's tour of Pakistan 1993/1994 making his mark by taking 8 wickets in the 2nd Test at Rawalpindi ( 9–14 December 1993). He won the Man of the series award in that series taking 22 wickets at an average of 13.54. He bettered his best bowling figures in 1995 when Pakistan toured Zimbabwe taking 6/90 in the first Test at Harare.

In 1995/96, Streak played in the same Matabeleland team as his 46-year-old father Denis in the final of the Lonrho Logan Cup against Mashonaland Country Districts; this was the first instance of a father and son playing in the same first-class match for more than thirty years.

In 2000/2001, he won 2-man of the series awards, first in Zimbabwe's tour of England and then in Bangladesh's tour of Zimbabwe.

He is the only Zimbabwean bowler to have taken over 100 Test wickets and one of only 2 Zimbabwean bowlers to have taken over 100 ODI wickets (the other being Grant Flower). There is little doubt that he is the best bowler to have played for Zimbabwe, with the ability to extract seam movement at a lively pace on even the deadest of wickets.

He retired from international cricket in October 2005 to become captain of Warwickshire County Cricket Club having previously played county cricket for Hampshire. He also captains his fellow exiled Anglo-African players from Zimbabwe in the Red Lions team, which plays charity games in England.

On 25 April 2007, Streak resigned as Warwickshire captain, saying captaining the side was affecting his on field abilities. He was replaced as captain by Darren Maddy. At the end of the 2007 season he left Warwickshire citing family reasons.

At the bottom of the year of 2007, he joined the Ahmedabad Rockets in the Indian Cricket League. He played two seasons in the ICL along with appearing in the Hong Kong sixes.

In 2009, he cut his ties with ICL, and in that August was appointed as the bowling coach of Zimbabwean national team. He was also given the responsibility of working with the young Zimbabwean fast bowlers and for franchise cricket.

Controversies

Heath Streak claimed in an interview in The Observer that he was faced with moral challenges in captaining Zimbabwe. He said that he was asked to tell white players that they were not talented enough and were to be replaced by black players.

Coaching career

In 2009, he was named as Zimbabwe's bowling coach.

External links

• http://www.cricinfo.com/zimbabwe/content/story/423665.html
• http://www.cricinfo.com/zimbabwe/content/story/421979.html
• Player profile: Heath Streak from ESPNcricinfo

Preceded by Andy Flower	Zimbabwean national cricket captain 2000/1–2001/2	Succeeded by Brian Murphy
Preceded by Alistair Campbell	Zimbabwean national cricket captain 2003–2003/4	Succeeded by Tatenda Taibu