Tinashe Kusema
Deputy Sports Editor
WHAT do Michael Schumacher, wrestler-cum-actor John Cena, Michael Jordan, Floyd Mayweather and Heath Streak have in common?
Well, the easy answer is that all five happen to be retired and are ultra-successful individuals in their respective fields.
Schumacher, Mayweather and Jordan, some might argue, are the greatest of all time (or GOATs, as the term goes) in Formula One racing, boxing and basketball, respectively.
It is undeniable that Cena has left a footprint in wrestling.
Streak, on the other hand, happens to be one of the country’s best and most successful cricketers, with the only blemish to an almost perfect international career being the eight-year ban from all cricket activities for breaching ICC’s anti-corruption code in 2021.
That was the easy answer.
The one thing that ties all five together more accurately is that all have been victims of a death hoax on social media.
For the most part, I have been leaning more towards comedian and actor Dave Chappelle’s view on social media from his 2021 stand-up special “The Closer”.
The quote goes: “Apparently, they dragged me on Twitter. But, I don’t care, because Twitter (now X) is not a real place.”
However, while Twitter is not essentially a real place, it does have an effect on the day-to-day lives of ordinary people.
Also, the 50-year-old thespian was referring to the effects of cancel culture, another offspring of social media.
Last week, Streak became the latest victim of a death hoax, as the 49-year-old former Zimbabwean international was declared dead for roughly eight hours between the latter hours of Tuesday night into the wee hours of Wednesday.
The true author — culprit — behind the hoax is yet to be established, although Streak’s former teammate and another former Zimbabwean international, Henry Olonga, seems to have taken the blame.
After all, it is Olonga’s condolence message on X, which has since been deleted, that gave the hoax a level of authenticity, leading to an array of renowned news outlets (Reuters and Dailymail), teams (Chennai Super Kings), friends and former teammates and foes (Sean Williams and VVS Laxman, among others) to follow suit.
Streak, on the other hand, was oblivious to what was going on, and only learnt of his supposed death through calls and the social media.
“I found out through social media on Facebook and Twitter (now X),” Streak told The Sunday Mail Sport.
“I found it to be quite disappointing that someone would post about my supposed death, drawing alarm among some of my friends, former colleagues and classmates, who called in to check up on it.”
Those close to him did phone and check up on him after the rumours had been dispelled.
“Yeah, I did receive a lot of messages and calls from former teammates, opponents and colleagues checking up on me,” he continued.
Streak has been diagnosed with stage four cancer and spent much of Thursday going through an undisclosed treatment.
His voice was frail and unrecognisable, a testament to the pain he must be going through.
He, however, remains largely positive.
“I am okay at the moment,” said the 49-year-old.
“I still have a long fight ahead of me, and who knows how long I have left?
“However, I just have to stay positive, stay strong and fight hard.”
Streak has become a cautionary tale on the potential damage that social media can have on the lives of ordinary people.
This is largely due to its reach, lack of accountability and abuse through bullying and hoaxes.
Is Streak perfect? Certainly not, given the eight-year ban he is currently serving.
It will forever be an asterisk on his decorated career.
What is undeniable is his cricket CV, which saw him play 65 Test matches and pick up 216 wickets with an economy of 2.69.
In the ODI format, Streak featured in 189 matches, scalping 239 wickets at an economy of 4.51.
With the bat, he amassed 1 990 runs in the red-ball format at an average of 22.4.
He is the all-time leading wicket-taker for Zimbabwe in Test cricket (216 wickets) and in ODI cricket (239 wickets).
He was the first and only Zimbabwean bowler to take over 100 Test wickets and one of only four Zimbabwean bowlers to take over 100 ODI wickets.
While there are those who will question Streak for his part in the match-fixing allegations, none will ever question the cricketer for his contributions to the game.
The happenings of the last couple of days truly leave a stink given the man’s health, and the fact that the true culprit will probably never be identified and receive his just rebuke.
For now, Olonga seems to be the scapegoat everyone is pointing fingers at.
His biggest crime was that he rushed to social media to post his condolence message without double-checking or verifying the claim.
He did not post an apology but simply deleted his post and replaced it with another one, which was accompanied by a screenshot of a conversation he had with Streak.
“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,” said the post.
Reuters followed suit and deleted their initial story on Streak’s alleged demise.
They simply posted: “The August 23 story headlined ‘Cricket — Former Zimbabwe captain Streak dies aged 49’ is wrong and is withdrawn.
“The source for the story has retracted his statement.”