Heath Streak

Hailing from a ranching family, Streak was a superb bowler who carried a fragile looking bowling unit often single handedly. He had the ability to extract seam movement on the most docile of pitches. An astute leader, Streak was caught in the wrangling between the players union and the Zimbabwe Cricket board that threatened to destabilize what was already a shaky foundation called Zimbabwe Cricket.

Streak is perhaps the finest pace bowler Zimbabwe ever produced and his 216 wickets in 65 Tests stands testimony to that. Making his debut against Pakistan in Karachi in 1993, it did not take too long for Streak to establish himself taking 8 wickets in just his second Test at Rawalpindi. Streak continued to shoulder the bowling and the burdens of the captaincy even as Zimbabwe struggled to raise their levels in Test cricket.

Streak was criticized for his inaction over the off-field tussles which destabilized cricket in Zimbabwe. He failed to garner the required support from the higher powers and even resigned from captaincy in frustration.

Despite primarily being a bowler, Streak was a capable batsman often loving to tonk the bowlers over the infield. His batting added to the strength of the Zimbabwe lower middle order. In his illustrious career, Streak scored his maiden ton against West Indies at Harare, a fine effort of 127*.

Streak was appointed as the captain of Warwickshire after signing a 2-year contract in 2006. He resigned from the job though after just one game in the 2007 season citing lack of personal form. Streak signed with the now defunct Indian Cricket League (ICL) in 2007, signaling the end of his international career.

Streak returned to the Zimbabwe fold in 2009 and was named as the bowling coach of the national team.

Under his watch, the likes of Shingirai Masakadza, Kyle Jarvis realized their potential, making it big for Zimbabwe. He also runs a Cricket Academy in Zimbabwe, which caters to training kids from the lower income groups.

By Cricbuzz Staff