Heath Streak is released from ICL contract

[Detective RDS]

Big news....I was thinking about it for a few days. Most of the major cricket nations have announced their position about the ICL players and gave them a due date, so they can cut their all ties with ICL before the due time. But nothing came from Zimbabwean cricket. Only Heath Streak and Murray Goodwin was involved with ICL.

But now, Heath Streak is released from ICL stint as he is engaged with official cricket.

Link: http://www.sundaynews.co.zw/inside.aspx ... 3603&cat=5

Heath Streak renounces ICL contract

By Mehluli Sibanda

FORMER Zimbabwe senior national team captain Heath Streak has been released from his Indian Cricket League (ICL) contract, paving way for his involvement in official cricket in the country.


Streak was one of the former international cricketers who opted out of the unofficial ICL.
The former Zimbabwe skipper turned out for the Ahmedabad Rockets and took part in two tournaments in the ICL.

He confirmed that he had pulled out of contract with the rebel league but at the age of 35, he feels he does not have much to contribute as a player and his main priority is coaching.

“I asked to be released from my ICL contract and that was granted and I can get involved with formal cricket in Zimbabwe. At 35, I do not think I am fit enough to play so my first priority is coaching,” said Streak.

Reliable sources have revealed to Sunday News that Streak is being earmarked by Zimbabwe Cricket as a member of the national Under-19 team to assist coach Kevin Curran ahead of the International Cricket Council Under-19 World Cup to be staged in Kenya at the beginning of next year.

The sources further revealed that Streak recently met with a top ZC official whose identity is known to Sunday News in Harare to discuss ways in which the former Zimbabwe skipper could contribute to the game that gave him fame and fortune.

Streak did confirm the meeting but did not delve much into it for fear of breaching confidentiality.

A brilliant all-rounder during his days, Streak retired from international cricket in October 2005 after being offered the captaincy by English county side Warwickshire whom he had joined in 2004.

Streak stepped down from the Warwickshire captaincy at the beginning of the 2007 season and eventually retired from first-class cricket at the end of the 2007 county season and last year he signed up for the ICL.

Despite being the first to be initiated, the ICL was however branded rebel and was not recognised by the ICC while the international cricket mother body backed the highly successful Indian Premier League launched by the Board of Cricket Control of India which has held two tournaments, the second which ended in South Africa last Sunday.

Streak is already involved with the game locally as he is part of a committee set up to revive the sport in Matabeleland. Other members of the committee are his father Dennis and former Matabeleland fast bowler Ethan Dube.

[Sir Mupariwa]

This is good, this is just remarkable for Zim cricket. Streak does have a heart for Zim cricket and it will be good if the other guys come to help our current team. Hopefully both Haughton and Steak will assist the senior team because i think they have the respect of all the players and that will really boost moral for our guys.

[maehara]

Yup. Streak could probably play if he wanted to, but I think he's doing the right thing by taking a coaching role & trying to help things along from there. Good to see him back.

[Detective RDS]

I would have liked to see Streak back in international cricket action. Inspired by what he said last month, a flicker of light:

"You can never rule anything out totally but it's not anything I'm considering at the moment," Streak said in response to questions whether he would consider playing for his country again. Even if it wasn't to happen "that won't be the end of my interest in cricket. (http://content.cricinfo.com/zimbabwe/co ... 96059.html)

But after resigning the ICL contract, it seems that he doesn't think he is fit enough to play. My personal observation is that fitness is a thing that can be improved...But it also has to be kept in mind that Streak hasn't played any FC cricket since 2007 after ending his stint with Warwickshire and it's also known that he has lost some pace too. But I think a player like Streak can contribute in the cricket anyhow. I always thought not only his bowling but also his batting would be productive for team performance.

If he has made his mind up not to play, then having an involvement with coaching will be a great sign for Zimbabwean cricket. He can impart his knowledge on pace bowling to the young pacers.

[maehara]

The Independent today is reporting Streak as likely coach for the Matabeleland franchise:

Bulawayo Metropolitan Province chairman Stan Staddon will be in charge of Westerns, who have requested to change their name to Matabeleland Warriors and look odds on to engage former Zimbabwe captain Heath Streak as coach.

Between this, assistant U19 national coach and the Matabeleland regeneration committee, he's going to be a busy man.

[brmtaylor.com admin]

I would have liked to see Streak back in international cricket action. Inspired by what he said last month, a flicker of light:

"You can never rule anything out totally but it's not anything I'm considering at the moment," Streak said in response to questions whether he would consider playing for his country again. Even if it wasn't to happen "that won't be the end of my interest in cricket. (http://content.cricinfo.com/zimbabwe/co ... 96059.html)

But after resigning the ICL contract, it seems that he doesn't think he is fit enough to play. My personal observation is that fitness is a thing that can be improved...But it also has to be kept in mind that Streak hasn't played any FC cricket since 2007 after ending his stint with Warwickshire and it's also known that he has lost some pace too. But I think a player like Streak can contribute in the cricket anyhow. I always thought not only his bowling but also his batting would be productive for team performance.

If he has made his mind up not to play, then having an involvement with coaching will be a great sign for Zimbabwean cricket. He can impart his knowledge on pace bowling to the young pacers.

I would like to think that even if he doesn't play international games, he would still be a chance to feature in domestic cricket. Player/coach for Matabeleland maybe?
You are right Detective RDS, maybe he has something to offer as a batsman. He has a very healthy ODI average of 28 and has a Test century under his belt. However, in current circumstances I don't think he should be (or would want to be) in the ODI squad. At the moment we have an ODI squad that is so full of potential, we've got the likes of Mutizwa, Waller, Chakabva, Chibhabha all fighting for spots in the team. These guys are the future of Zimbabwe cricket, so it is important to get as much match experience into them as possible.

There is the argument of having Streak in the team, because other players would learn from him. But I don't think this would be as beneficial as getting another years worth of experience into Mutizwa, Waller, etc.

This is only in ODI's though. If we get our Test status back within the next 3 years (before Streak turns 38), then he could potentially slot in to the middle order. We know from the likes of Steve Waugh, Sanath Jayasuriya, etc, that batsmen can still play well into their late 30's... and as we know, Zimbabweans (still playing) with Test centuries are a rare breed. Just like the very first Zimbabwe Test team went with experience in Pycroft, Houghton, Traicos, when Zim returns to Tests in order to ensure at the very least that we are competitive you're almost obligated to play Vermeulen, Streak, Taibu if possible.

[Kopje]

Streak will do a very good job for Zimbabwe Cricket, whether he is at Matebeleland or working with younger players, his inputs will probably put us where we haven't been in a long time. Good luck to him!