CRICKET DAY OF SHAME
HEATH Streak handed eight-year ban for corruption after facilitating approaches by a corruptor to people within teams he was coach at.
SRC has requested the country’s national prosecuting authority to look into matter so that appropriate action is also taken locally.
FORMER Zimbabwe captain Heath Streak has been banned for eight years after being charged with - and admitting to - five breaches of the International Cricket Council’s anti-corruption code, including accepting a payment in bitcoins from a potential corruptor.
Streak, Zimbabwe’s greatest fast bowler, had been under investigation for an extensive list of games through 2017 and 2018, during his post-playing career as a coach, from his time in international cricket with Zimbabwe from 2016 to 2018 - as well as stints in T20 leagues including the IPL, the BPL and the Afghanistan Premier League (APL).
The charges paint a picture of Streak as a facilitator of approaches by a corruptor to people within teams he was a part of. But they also include one charge of disclosing inside information pertaining to matches during a 2018 tri-series involving Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, a Zimbabwe-Afghanistan series in 2018, the 2018 IPL and the 2018 APL.
Streak was also charged with facilitating or attempting to introduce four players including a national captain - to a potential corruptor.
The three other charges revolve around his failure to disclose receiving gifts or payment in lieu of this facilitation, the failure to disclose potentially corrupt approaches in the 2017 BPL, and, in 2018, the PSL, IPL and the APL.
Those gifts include accepting two bitcoins - converted eventually into US$ 35,000 - from the potential corruptor identified in the ICC’s investigation as Mr X. At the APL, Streak was also gifted a new iPhone for this wife, both of which he failed to disclose to ICC anti-corruption investigators.
Although he is believed to initially have contested the allegations, Streak eventually admitted to the charges and agreed to the sanctions. He is now banned from all cricket activities and would be free to resume his involvement again on March 28, 2029.
“Heath Streak is an experienced former international cricketer and national team coach, who had participated in numerous anti-corruption education sessions and was fully aware of his responsibilities under the Code,” the ICC’s anti-corruption head Alex Marshall said in a statement.
“As a former captain and coach, he held a position of trust and owed a duty to uphold the integrity of the game. He breached the Code on several occasions, including facilitating the approach of four other players. At times, he also sought to obstruct and delay our investigation.
“The offences did not affect the outcomes of any relevant matches and Mr Streak has agreed to assist the ICC anti-corruption education programme for which we are grateful. He has also expressed his remorse and contrition and entered this agreed sanction decision to avoid the need for a full disciplinary process. The sanction reflects this cooperation.”