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Grace Chingoma

Senior Sports Reporter

OLD Mutual Heath Streak Cricket Academy Trust faces an uncertain future following the ban of its founder and former Zimbabwe cricket skipper, Heath Streak, from all forms of cricket activities.

The Academy’s directors are expected to convene a board meeting this Friday to discuss the way forward and will release a statement afterwards.

The Old Mutual Heath Streak Cricket Academy chief executive officer, Joseph Rego, told The Herald that he will only be in a position to discuss the developments after the board meeting.

Streak fell from grace on Wednesday, when he was banned from all forms of cricket for eight years by the International Cricket Council. He was found guilty after accepting five charges of breaching the ICC anti-corruption code.

“We have a board meeting tomorrow (Friday), the board of trustees of the Heath Streak Academy. I will issue out a statement afterwards. At the moment, I don’t have any comment to make,” said Rego.

The academy which has been spearheading cricket development in the Matabeleland region was launched in Harare three years ago. It is run by a board of trustees.

The Old Mutual Heath Streak Cricket Academy Trust has made giant strides in the growth, and development of cricket, in Zimbabwe.

The academy moves into the suburbs, scouts for talent at schools, and recruits talented players to the academy where they will put the players under various programmes.

The experienced staff helps nurture their skills and give them an opportunity to showcase their talent so that they will be able to represent the country on the international level.

The Academy identifies, nurtures, and grooms young talented cricketers, many of them representing the nation at various age-group levels.

The Old Mutual Heath Streak Cricket Academy was one of the first institutions in the country to resume sport following the Government’s approval of low-risk codes to return a month ago.

The Heath Streak International Academy, which was then adopted by Old Mutual and rebranded, was first launched in Bulawayo before it was launched in Harare three years ago.

The project was given the thumbs-up by Zimbabwe Cricket.

The Academy age-group teams — Pre-Colts and Under-11 up to Under-18 levels, have been doing well in international tournaments with great distinction.