Heath Streak - a short biography

Full Name: Heath Hilton Streak

Born: 16 March 1974, Bulawayo

Major teams: Zimbabwe (since 1993/94), Matabeleland (since 1993/94), Hampshire (1995). Present club team: Queens Sports Club

Known as: Heath Streak. Nicknames: Streaky, Bacon, Beefy Batting Style: Right Hand Bat

Bowling Style: Right Arm Fast Medium

Occupation: Professional Cricketer

First-class debut: Zimbabwe B v Kent, at Old Hararians Sports Club (Harare), 30 March 1993

Test Debut: First Test v Pakistan, at Karachi, 1993/94

ODI Debut: 10 November 1993, v South Africa, at Bangalore (Hero Cup)

Biography (updated September 2000)

Wisden Cricket Monthly used to publish a monthly `World Rankings' page, showing the records of the world's leading Test cricketers over the previous two years. At the start of the England tour of 1996/97, Heath Streak was at the top of this list, having taken 53 wickets at a remarkable average of less than 20. The Cooper and Lybrand ratings have put him in various positions between third and ninth. Although his results in the Tests against England and New Zealand, played when he was not fully fit, caused him to lose some ground, these figures were no mistake. Heath Streak is a truly world-class bowler.

Heath is one of the numerous Zimbabwe Test players to attend Falcon College, near Esigodeni in Matabeleland. Before then he attended the Rhodes Estate Preparatory School, known as Reps, where he scored two centuries, among numerous other good performances. He has always been an all-rounder, fully able to contribute with the bat and one of the best fielders in the world today, although in the wake of his bowling triumphs this is often overlooked. He comes from a long line of cricketing Streaks who have been playing in Bulawayo since the First World War. His father Denis, frequently a Zimbabwe tour manager, played a number of matches for the national side between 1976 and 1985, and has been a major encouragement in Heath's cricketing career, constantly emphasising to him the essential place of hard work and dedication in reaching the top. Brought up on a ranch at Turk Mine, near Nyati, north of Bulawayo, he was weaned on the outdoor life and particularly enjoys hunting; in fact, before the Zimbabwe Cricket Union signed him up as a professional cricketer, he had a learner hunter's licence.

At Falcon College Heath's achievements meant that he was frequently playing above his age group, primarily as a strike bowler, and consequently he was forced to bat low in the order. This limited his opportunities with the bat but did not snuff out his talent; in fact, in one season he finished with a batting average of almost 300, having been dismissed only once! The beautiful fast, lively pitch at Falcon enabled him to make the most of his pace bowling. He soon achieved representative honours, being selected for each national age-group team from junior school onwards. He went on an Under-17 tour to England, taking wickets throughout, and scored 84 in a three-day `Test'. Unfortunately he finished the tour with sciatica in his back. He also toured South Africa with the Under-17 team, which beat both England and India, the national schools tour of Australia, and the Under-19 tournament in Denmark, where he took four wickets in the victory over England in the final.

He was now playing club cricket in Bulawayo, and also in the Matabeleland Winter Cricket league. It was in a match between Nyati and Hwange that he recorded his highest score to date in any class of cricket, 184.

When Zimbabwe entered Test cricket, the country was desperately short of quality pace bowlers and Heath soon attracted attention. In 1992/93 he played in three matches for the Zimbabwe Under-24 team, taking a few useful wickets but without hitting the headlines. His most notable performance was an innings of 62 against Border. He made a quiet debut for Zimbabwe B against the Kent touring team at the end of the season, and then toured England, fairly uneventfully, with the national team. It was therefore mostly on potential and good club performances that he was thrown in at the deep end, selected for the Hero Cup in India and the tour of Pakistan in 1993/94.

On his Test debut he took no wickets, but battled manfully for more than two hours to score 19 not out, in a desperate and unavailing bid to save Zimbabwe from defeat. Then, in the Second Test at Rawalpindi, he bowled superbly, taking five wickets for 56, then the best bowling figures by a Zimbabwean in an innings, and eight wickets in the match. Since then he has rarely looked back. He found it a particular thrill to bowl out Javed Miandad twice in the match. He pays tribute to the help given him by John Hampshire, the Zimbabwe coach at that time, in developing his bowling.

Greatness was thrust upon him when the Sri Lankans toured Zimbabwe in 1994/95. With Eddo Brandes and David Brain both injured, the mantle of Zimbabwean spearhead fell unexpectedly on Heath's broad shoulders. He handled the role superbly, taking 13 of the 37 Sri Lankan wickets to fall during the series. During the limited-overs matches, the Zimbabwean bowling would have fallen apart at the seams, had it not been for Heath, the one superb bowler in a rather mediocre attack.

He developed further in Australia when Zimbabwe went there for the World Series Cup, to the extent that he was head and shoulders above the rest of the bowlers when Pakistan visited later in the season. His 22 wickets in the series, at an average of 13.54, took his Test total to 43; he was voted joint Player of the Series with Inzamam-ul-Haq; he appeared at least the equal of Wasim Akram; and his nine wickets were vital to Zimbabwe's Test victory. This, Heath feels, was the best bowling performance of his career, as well as the most satisfying.

With such an outstanding bowler in the side, the temptation is always there to use him for too long, in the role of stock rather than shock bowler, but Heath stood up well to almost 40 overs per Test. In the Third Test against Pakistan, though, he had to overcome the pain barrier as he successfully bowled out Pakistan to leave Zimbabwe a reachable target -- only for the side's batsmen to waste it. But Heath fought better than most of his team-mates; he hit a defiant unbeaten 30, competing to the very end.

All this took place before his 21st birthday. He was the first bowler outside the Indian subcontinent to take more than 40 Test wickets before reaching the age of 21. Ahead of him were Kapil Dev with 87, then Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis with 63 and 62 respectively -- if we accept their dates of birth as genuine.

After his success against Pakistan, Heath accepted a one-year contract to play county cricket for Hampshire, replacing Winston Benjamin, who was touring with the West Indians. He enjoyed the invaluable experience, although it was hard work and he has no plans to return, unless a one-year contract was offered, for fear of burning himself out. The fact that Hampshire's three other main bowlers were all injured at times during the season added to the pressure; he was unable to take a break even for matches against the tourists. Niggling injuries later in the season probably resulted from this.

His results were, on the face of it, unspectacular, with no five-wicket hauls and only one fifty, a 69 against the Young Australians. He found the pitches very flat, especially at the county headquarters Southampton, and had about fifteen catches dropped off his bowling in the last few matches. The county were very pleased with his attitude, though, and Heath got on very well with Mark Nicholas, the captain, who had become a family friend.

Heath's fine Test form continued throughout 1995/96, and he also achieved his best first-class figures of seven for 69 against Mashonaland Country Districts in the Logan Cup. One of his most notable performances was actually a superb aggressive fighting fifty against South Africa, rescuing the Zimbabwean first innings from complete humiliation at the hands of their southern neighbours. He had a disappointing time in the World Cup of 1995/96 in the Indian subcontinent, apart from taking three wickets against Sri Lanka, ironically the only match in which the batsmen really got hold of his bowling. He did generally bowl well, though, but as he was so far ahead of his team-mates in quality the opposition tended to follow the policy of seeing him off and raking advantage of the other bowlers.

Unfortunately he suffered a serious groin injury on the tour of Sri Lanka at the start of the 1996/97 season, which led to his returning home early and also missing the tour of Pakistan. Since then, he has not fully regained his best form. He bowled some good spells against England, though again was probably overbowled at times; he could also be uncharacteristically inaccurate. He seemed to be fit physically, but there was a feeling that he was still not quite confident psychologically.

He himself admits that 1996/97 was a difficult season for him to find his best form, due to niggling injuries. It was a particular blow to miss the tour to Pakistan, but he was feeling happier by the end of the season when Zimbabwe visited Sharjah. He feels he generally bowled well against England, and particularly enjoyed the excellent support of Eddo Brandes at the other end.

During the off-season, he again spent time entertaining the hunting clientele, with bird-shooting being his main pastime. He also spent much time in training, but unfortunately this led to an injury in the other groin, so he started the new season against New Zealand again less than fully fit. This was ironic as he had spent so much time strengthening the groin which had troubled him before. During the Second Test he also strained his side; it was thought at first that this was only a minor injury, but in the event it kept him out of the one-day internationals. He was also rested from the tour to Kenya in an effort to help him regain full fitness.

He was fit again in time for the tour of Sri Lanka, which was a good one for him personally, although there was the particular frustration of seeing victory snatched from Zimbabwe's grasp in the Second Test by a series of umpiring errors. He did not find the conditions easy for seam bowlers, especially in the one-day internationals, where the pitches were quite lifeless. He also did not receive much quality support from Zimbabwe's other pace bowlers. He did, however, generally establish the mastery over the attacking opening batsman Sanath Jayasuriya, dismissing him in all four Test innings, three times for less than 10, but could not carry this mastery over into the one-day internationals. Heath says that the way Jayasuriya bats he always gives chances and he is not used to controlled swing bowling; he often fancies getting him out playing on, or through lbw decisions or snicks behind the wicket.

Heath's fighting spirit came out in the First Test, when Sri Lanka came in for their second innings needing just 10 runs to win. In a superb over Heath dismissed both Jayasuriya and Mahanama without scoring, to reduce the margin of defeat to eight wickets. Then in the Second Test, with Sri Lanka left 326 to win, he took four of the five wickets to fall before de Silva and Ranatunga, aided by the umpires, took Sri Lanka to an undeserved victory. Heath was robbed of wickets on several further occasions, lbw or caught off snicks, and became so frustrated that he actually had strong words with the umpire responsible, an act completely out of character for one who never indulges in any kind of abuse on the field.

The New Zealand tour that followed was a difficult one for both him and the team. The events of Sri Lanka had left their confidence and morale low, and his bowling was not at its best. He felt rather better on his return to Zimbabwe to play Pakistan; he always enjoys bowling at home, and especially at Harare Sports Club. He also batted well in both Tests, scoring a valuable fifty in the First in partnership with Grant Flower, who went on to carry his bat. Then followed a triangular series in India, also including Australia, played on batsmen's pitches. Heath emerged the only bowler in the team to return presentable figures.

Despite his continued fitness, Andy Flower for one did not feel he was even close to his peak form, and Heath chose to spend the off season on the ranch, working on the bowling basics. He produced some good bowling in the Commonwealth Games of 1998 in Kuala Lumpur; this was followed by the visit of India. With Brandes ill, Heath had to bear the burden of the attack alone in the first two one-day internationals, and did not bowl particularly well. Aware that all depended on him, he tried too hard. The return of Brandes for the third match gave him the inspiration to bowl at his best in tandem with Eddo. They bowled with real purpose and Zimbabwe snatched back a victory. Heath admitted he found it easier to bowl with support from others, when he did not feel the need to bowl 'big balls' all the time.

Then in the Test match he found Henry Olonga at the peak of his form. Well though he bowled, he was overshadowed by Olonga and had the rare experience of being a support bowler as India plunged to defeat. In particular Streak and Olonga firing together in the second innings made an awesome sight, which proved too much for India.

Next came the Mini World Cup in Dhaka, where he did not do particularly well as Zimbabwe were knocked out by New Zealand. This was followed by another triangular series in Sharjah, against India and Sri Lanka. He did not find the pitches suitable for his type of bowling and generally went on as first change, after Brandes and Neil Johnson. He took only two wickets in his four matches, but found the pitches during the tour of pa which followed much more suitable; he took seven wickets in the three one-day matches there.

He was to play a major part, again in partnership with Olonga, in the First Test against Pakistan. In the first innings, on a helpful pitch, he again bore the brunt of the bowling, with four wickets, including his hundredth in Test cricket when he had Azhar Mahmood caught at the wicket. He was the first Zimbabwean to reach this total, by a long way. He also played another important innings, scoring 24 in a century partnership with Johnson at a critical stage of the innings. In the second innings he and Olonga again formed a lethal partnership as they tore into the Pakistan batting and brought eventual victory to Zimbabwe.

There was not much cricket in the New Year of 1999 until a triangular tournament in Bangladesh, with Kenya also included. As his knee tendon was still giving him some trouble, he was rested against Bangladesh and used sparingly against Kenya. Then came the World Cup, and considerable embarrassment early on, as he found it very difficult to control the white ball and was frequently called for wides by over-zealous umpires as the ball swung far too much. He never completely mastered it, but turned in reasonable returns nevertheless, with valuable three-wicket hauls against India and South Africa, Zimbabwe's two victories against Test-playing nations. He also chipped in with a number of small but valuable innings.

This has been the story of Heath Streak's one-day career, and to an extent his recent Test career as well. He does not return startling analyses, as the opposing batsmen tend to play him with great care and he is not quite again the force he used to be. His batting has still not produced the big scores expected of him, with his upright, commanding stance and sound technique. Part of this is that he appears much less comfortable against real pace at international level. But improvement should come, and he still has the potential to be a genuine all-rounder.

Unfortunately he returned home from the World Cup with a sore knee and found he was suffering from patella tendonitis, known as 'jumper's knee' as it resulted from the unavoidable stress of landing hard on his front leg. He had in fact been struggling with this problem for some time, but this time it was at its worst. He had an operation, but returned to cricket too soon, playing in the home Test match against Australia where he was once again Zimbabwe's best bowler despite his handicap, taking five wickets. But the knee swelled up again, and this put him out of the two Tests against South Africa and three against Sri Lanka that followed. "It was quite frustrating watching and knowing I could have been there," he said.

He finally returned for the triangular tournament in South Africa that also included England, and his fitness held. Heath was at the wicket in the nail-biting finish of the match against South Africa in Durban, and managed to scramble a bye off the last ball to win the game. There followed an unsuccessful home one-day series against England and then the tour of West Indies.

"I personally enjoyed the challenges there and had a good series," he said. He took nine wickets for 72 runs in the First Test at Port of Spain, only for the Zimbabwean batting to fall to pieces when faced with 99 to win. He particular relishes the memory of dismissing Shivnarine Chanderpaul lbw for 49 when well set. Then, selected for the Second Test, he did not bowl a ball, suffering a freak back injury during the lethal warm-ups before the match but after the team had been announced. He came back to bowl well in the triangular tournament, also including Pakistan, that followed but without much tangible success.

Zimbabwe's first full tour of England followed, but their first Test match at Lord's was a complete disaster. Only Heath was able to produced his best form, and he laboured alone with the ball to improve on his best Test figures, six for 87. "Getting on the board there was special for me," he says. "But obviously I would have preferred to be in a winning team. They were pretty hard times with all that was going on at home as well [the invasion of farms, including the Streaks', by so-called war veterans], worrying about that. It did prey on the mind a little bit but I don't think it affected our cricket too much. I think the guys did well in the circumstances."

The tour did improve for Zimbabwe, and they had much the better of a rain-ruined Second Test at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, and reached the final of the triangular tournament that also included West Indies. A special memory was his bowling of Brian Lara in the victory over West Indies at Canterbury.

There was major controversy after the tour as the Zimbabwe Cricket Union decided to remove Andy Flower as captain, and chief executive Dave Ellman-Brown approached Heath to offer him the job. "Obviously I was taken by surprise as I didn't expect it," says Heath, "but it was an honour to be asked, so it's nice to have that challenge and an honour to lead the Zimbabwean players. I wanted to captain at one stage but hadn't had a lot of experience, but I'm looking forward to it."

Shortly afterwards, on 18 August 2000, Heath was married to his wife Nadine and they had a week together in Mauritius before training began for the tour by New Zealand. He has established a home on the family farm and will probably manage it himself eventually.

Against New Zealand he found himself having to lead a team dispirited by another controversy, feeling that political interference had affected the selection of the side for the First Test, and Zimbabwe suffered two fairly heavy Test defeats. Heath also lost his record as the holder of Zimbabwe's best Test innings bowling figures as leg-spinner Paul Strang took eight wickets in an innings in the Bulawayo Test.

Still in his mid-twenties, Heath has plenty of time on his side. All things being equal, he should spearhead Zimbabwe's attack for another decade. He can look forward to much greater support in the future than in the past, with the emergence of Olonga and the potential of several other promising pace bowlers. His batting too should continue to develop, with some Test centuries to add to the three first-class hundreds he has already scored.

"I feel I've underachieved, particularly in the longer game," Heath says of his batting. I'm going to try to work on becoming more of an all-rounder. If you have teams that bat down to number eleven like the South Africans do, you have a more formidable side."

Heath's fielding should not be ignored, and he very much enjoys his time in the field. Despite his size and build, he is one of the best fielders in the world, specialising in the covers. He has a very powerful and accurate throw, and realises that, with his size, he needs to work regularly on his suppleness.

Heath names his 6/90 in Zimbabwe's Test victory over Pakistan and the one-day series victory over England as the highlights of his career to date. He regrets neglecting his batting in the past, but realises the need to concentrate on bowling early in his career; he aims to work more on his batting in the future and hopes eventually to bat at number six for Zimbabwe. This is certainly within his capabilities.

His cricketing heroes in the past included Dennis Lillee, Malcolm Marshall and Richard Hadlee, who were all great role models for him. Nowadays he particularly respects players like Glenn McGrath, Courtney Walsh and Wasim Akram, who have mastered the art of bowling, and also has a lot of respect for batsmen like Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara.

The best batsman he has bowled to he names as Tendulkar, who 'when he gets going is pretty devastating', along with Sanath Jayasuriya. The bowlers to give him most difficulty are Saqlain Mushtaq and Shane Warne. He is generally more comfortable against seam bowling than spin. Now a senior player in Matabeleland and captain of the province when available, he is ambitious to develop cricket further in the province. He would like to see a bigger provincial one-day set-up and better marketing of the game. He recognises the need for youngsters to see the leading players in action to stimulate their interest in the game.