Govt mulls criminal charges against Streak
FORMER Zimbabwe Cricket captain Heath Streak could find himself in further trouble after government yesterday said it would consider criminal charges against him in the wake of his match-fixing scandal that shocked the local sporting fraternity.
The 47-year-old was yesterday handed an eight-year ban by the International Cricket Council (ICC) from all cricket activities for corruption after giving inside information “for betting purposes” while working as a coach in internationals and the Indian Premier League (IPL) He accepted five charges.
He has been barred for any involvement in the sport until March 2029.
Government, through the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) yesterday said they had endorsed the ICC decision.
SRC further said they had asked the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to ascertain whether Streak’s conduct constitutes a criminal act.
“The ministry has requested the National Prosecuting Authority to ascertain whether any of the criminal laws in Zimbabwe, particularly those relating to corruption, have been breached by Heath Streak in order that appropriate action is also taken locally by the NPA,” SRC chairman Gerald Mlotshwa said in a statement yesterday.
“The public is advised that the Sports Integrity Bill is under consideration with the Attorney-General’s Office after Cabinet approved of the principles thereof last year.
“The purpose of the final Bill, once enacted into law, is to provide for clearly defined criminal offences as relating to sport in Zimbabwe. It remains the ministry and SRC’s position that there is zero tolerance for corruption and bad governance in our sport and all such instances of corruption are hereby condemned in the strongest possible terms.”
The former fast bowler has been under ICC investigation over an extensive list of international and Twenty20 league matches during his post-playing career as a coach, including for Zimbabwe between 2016 and 2018.
Streak played 65 tests and 189 oneday internationals for Zimbabwe between 1993 and 2005.
The ICC investigation found that Streak communicated with an Indian man named just as “Mr X” during his time as ZC coach and in T20 leagues across Asia.
He passed on information on matches and also the contact details of players, including the captain of a national side.
In return, Streak received two Bitcoins and an iPhone for his wife.
The ICC also said Streak attempted to disrupt their investigation by colluding with “Mr X” — who they also interviewed — and deleted phone messages.
The admitted charges include “disclosing inside information ... in circumstances where he knew or should have known that such information may be used for betting purposes”.
This related to matches in a 2018 TriSeries involving Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, a 2018 series between Zimbabwe and Afghanistan, plus the 2018 IPL.