Ex-Zimbabwe skipper Streak banned for 8 yrs over chats with ‘Mr X’
DUBAI: Former Zimbabwe captain Heath Streak was banned for eight years for breaching cricket’s anti-corruption code while he was coach of his national team and an assistant coach in IPL and other domestic competitions. The ban relates to Streak’s communication for more than a year with an Indian man who sought inside information for the purposes of betting. The man, identified only as “Mr. X,” rewarded Streak with gifts like two Bitcoins, which Streak sold for $35,000, and a new iPhone for his wife, according to the disciplinary decision released by the International Cricket Council.
The 47-year-old Streak admitted to five charges, ICC said. He disclosed inside information that might have been used for betting, failed to disclose gifts he received, facilitated the introduction of Mr. X to players, failed to report the approaches to the ICC’s anti-corruption unit, and obstructed an investigation into his conduct. Streak was one of Zimbabwe’s greatest players and the first from his country to take 100 Test wickets. He was coach of Zimbabwe from 2009-13 and 2016-18. He coached Bangladesh from 2014-16 and also worked as bowling coach for Knight Riders in IPL 2018 and for Kabul Zwanan in the 2018 Afghanistan Premier League.
The offences related to games in 2017 and 2018, ICC said, and included the 2017 BPL, a tri-series involving Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in 2018, a Zimbabwe-Afghanistan series in 2018, the 2018 IPL and the 2018 Afghanistan Premier League. ICC insisted Streak’s actions ultimately “did not affect the outcomes of any relevant matches.”
Streak began communicating with Mr. X via WhatsApp in late 2017. Over the course of 15 months, Mr. X asked Streak ”to provide him with various information in relation to tournaments and matches he was involved with,” ICC said.
Streak also provided Mr. X with the contact details of numerous players, including one who was a national team captain. The players were not named but in the correspondence, Mr. X told Streak they could “make good money.”