The news of legendary Zimbabwe cricketer Heath Streak’s demise turned out to be a hoax after his former teammate Henry Olonga confirmed that the 49-year-old is very much alive.

Taking to social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter), Olonga posted a screenshot of his WhatsApp chat 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," Olonga wrote.

Incidentally, it was Olonga who had broken the news of Streak’s death earlier in the day.

"Sad news coming through that Heath Streak has crossed to the other side. RIP @ZimCricketv 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," Olonga had written on his X handle.

Olonga's initial post also led to Zimbabwe all-rounder Sean Williams and Indian cricket legends R Ashwin and VVS Laxman expressing their sorrow. However, they deleted their posts after Olonga shared his chat with Streak.

Virender Sehwag also expressed his relief but with a touch of humour.

Heath Streak is battling Stage 4 colon and liver cancer. He is undergoing treatment under one of the most respected oncologists in South Africa, his family had confirmed in May this year.

Widely regarded as one of the finest cricketers produced by Zimbabwe, Heath Streak represented his country in 65 Tests and 189 ODIs, picking up 216 and 239 wickets respectively. He was also a handy batter, scoring 1990 runs in Tests with one century and 2943 runs in the 50-over format of the game.