Olonga apologises for Streak death rumours

FORMER Zimbabwe international fast bowler, Henry Olonga has apologised for the misinformation that claimed that his former Chevrons teammate and captain, Heath Streak had succumbed to cancer last week.

After Olonga’s post about Streak’s supposed death, the news then spread like wildfire, leaving the world of cricket torn apart.

The news however, turned out to be untrue as Streak is still alive.

Olonga has since offered an apology to the masses for the misleading news. He took to his Facebook to convey his apology to the world. Having talked to Streak the day before breaking the news, Olonga added that he texted Streak and his wife but couldn’t get a response on time as it was late and some former colleagues also confirmed.

“When news came to me that Heath was unwell earlier this year, I made a concerted effort to reconnect after life had us all immersed in our own worlds. Heath has kept me up to date with all that is going on with treatment etc, and we have had good contact throughout. The same with Nadine. They are the closest friends I have from the world of Zimbabwe cricket. Most others I have less interaction with.

“In any case I was informed that Heath had taken a turn for the worse. We were encouraged to write kind words for his eulogy. So, it appeared imminent. I will not go into too much detail how the mis-communication occurred but rest assured I heard the story first on Facebook like everyone else. I did immediately text Heath and Nadine to verify. It was a while before they could respond as it was late at night. I texted a few close cricket colleagues who know the family well and they confirmed it was true. I did ask pointed questions to verify but they were convinced.

“After all I had only heard from Heath the day before so it seemed kind of sudden. But I truly was devastated as I genuinely believed he was gone. And all the emotion I felt I am sure those who encountered the story felt it too.

“Obviously I am extremely sorry that I took it as gospel. I then placed my own tributes which seemed to gather a lot of traction (amongst many tributes out there) only to get a text from Heath a few hours later in which he asked me to reverse the decision. (He has always had a great sense of humour). I then had to back track and attempt to fix the error that unfortunately had gone global. But how can it get fixed easily in this day and age? So, I retracted as best I could.

“I of course profusely apologised to the Streaks after the clanger. They did not need this,” read part of Olonga’s post.

The former Zimbabwe international bowler and head coach, Streak has been battling with cancer for some time now. – @brandon_malvin