Heath Streak, former Zimbabwe captain and the nation’s all-time leading wicket-taker, has died at the age of 49 after battling liver and colon cancer.

“In the early hours of this morning, Sunday, 3 September, the greatest love of my life and the father of my beautiful children, was carried to be with the angels from his home where he wished to spend his last days surrounded by his family and closest loved ones,” his wife, Nadine Streak wrote on social media.

Streak was an outstanding fast bowler and capable batsman. He was a key member of Zimbabwe teams that were competitive against cricket’s bigger nations in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

In 2021, his cricket career ended in ignominy, however, when he was banned for eight years for breaching the International Cricket Council (ICC) anticorruption code.

It was announced in May this year that Streak was seriously ill, and it was reported in August that he had died, following a message on social media from former teammate Henry Olonga.

Streak himself was quick to assert that he was still alive, but not before numerous former teammates and opponents paid tribute to him.

He made 1,990 runs at 22.35 in Tests to stand seventh on the country’s all-time list. His highest score and only century was 127, not out against the West Indies in Harare in 2003.

Streak took 237 wickets – 104 more than his nearest rival – and scored 2,901 runs in 187 one-day internationals.

His best Test bowling performance was typical. He took six for 73 while India piled up a total of 366 on the way to a 10-wicket win in Harare in 2005.