In the early hours of Wednesday morning, news began to filter through that former Zimbabwean all-rounder Heath Streak had passed away after a difficult battle with cancer, at the age of 49.
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Several cricketers, past and present, expressed their condolences for the all-rounder, who was synonymous with Zimbabwean cricket in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
However, there was a twist in the tale to come later on Wednesday morning.
'Rumours of his demise are greatly exaggerated': Zimbabwe Heath Streak still alive
The news of Streak's supposed demise was first broken by his former team-mate Henry Olonga, who wrote in a now-deleted Tweet,
"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."
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Around 10:30 am IST, Olonga then sent out another Tweet with a screenshot of what appeared to be a WhatsApp chat with Streak, who had written, "Very much alive...pse revert this runout IMMEDIATELY buddy".
I can confirm that rumours 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. pic.twitter.com/LQs6bcjWSB
— Henry Olonga (@henryolonga) August 23, 2023
Streak 'hurt' by news of his passing
The former Zimbabwe all-rounder went on to confirm that he was indeed alive and kicking, describing the spread of the fake news as 'hurting'. He also demanded that the source who spread the news should apologise.
"It's a total rumour and lie. I am alive and well. I am very upset to learn that something as big as someone apparently passing can be spread unverified especially in our day and age. I believe the source should apologise, I am hurt by the news," he told Mid-Day via WhatsApp.
The entire episode may be laughed off now, but remains a reminder of the speed at which news spreads across social media, even when inaccurate.
