The 31 year-old Zimbabwean is no stranger to having to burden the weight of a nations' bowling attack on his shoulders. Infact, Heath Streak is Zimbabwe's only bowler worthy of being considered genuine international class, and has carried Zimbabwe's bowling attack, which can be described as friendly at best, for a majority of his career. Although other pacemen, such as Andy Blignaut, Douglas Hondo and Blessing Mahwire have chipped in with the odd cameo performance, time and time again it has been left to the lionhearted Streak to place his team in a competitive position.

Through the years, Heath Streak has had quality spinners in the same side, freeing some of the burden. Paul Strang, Adam Huckle and Ray Price were consistent performers for Zimbabwe throughout their international careers. However, these bowlers are no longer with Zimbabwe. Paul Strang has a muscular ailment in his bowling hand, which forced him into early retirement. Adam Huckle apparently had business interests, which for him took precedence over cricket, and Ray Price was part of the infamous 2004 player-board dispute which crippled Zimbabwean cricket. Unable to see a cricketing future with Zimbabwe, Price moved on to Worcestershire on a Kolpak contract to further his career.

Nowadays, Streak has four inexperienced spinners which he has to work with. Graeme Cremer, Prosper Utseya, Keith Dabengwa and Gavin Ewing have been in and out of the side over the past year- none of them convincing enough to cement a regular spot in ether the Test or One-Day International teams.

Zimbabwe's well publicised player exodus has robbed him of potential pace bowling stars as well. The evergreen Gary Brent has not been able to continue playing for Zimbabwe. Although being no faster than medium pace, Brent was reliable and when called-upon, was able to perform handy deeds for his nation, particurlarly in One-Day Internationals. Another pace-bowling prodigy, Jordane Nicolle, has not been seen in Zimbabwean circles since last season's Logan Cup matches. The most high-profile loss though, is Henry Olonga, who was the first black cricketer to represent Zimbabwe. Although wayward, Henry Olonga was a genuine match-winning bowler, as proven by his rampant spell of 6-19 against England in Johannesburg in 2000. Olonga was forced into retirement following his political protest over the Mugabe government's alleged abuse of human rights after the 2003 World Cup.

The above being said, Streak is basically on his own in the bowling department in terms of experience. There is no doubting the potential; Blessing Mahwire, Andy Blignaut and Anthony Ireland were all consistent performers during the One-Day International series against India and New Zealand, but Blignaut and Mahwire have shown a lot of inconsistency when attempting prolonged spells in Test matches. Ireland, untried at Test match level, is almost certain to be selected for the tour of West Indies next year, though his detractors argue that he doesn't have enough pace to trouble top class batsmen.

Added to that is the fact that the batting department no longer possesses the artillery that it once did. Grant and Andy Flower are settled in England, and Craig Wishart and Stuart Carlisle have had their careers halted by a contract dispute with Zimbabwe Cricket. But it doesn't get any better with the young talent either; Sean Ervine and Travis Friend, the two cricketers who may have been capable of turning Zimbabwe's fortunes around, left the nation and received Kolpak deals in the English County Cricket scene.

Streak bowled what was universally recognised as his best spell since his return in March against India at Harare recently, but it is yet to be seen as to whether that form will continue for an extended period of time. Streak is by no means a tearaway paceman- rather a controlled and able medium fast bowler, who is able to extract lateral movement on the ball. Yet, his control has been able to keep Zimbabwe competitive for quite a long time. Streak's 6-73 also went down as his best figures in a test match.

Having a look at Streak's statistics, it is obvious to see why he is lauded as a Zimbabwean great. In 65 Test Matches, he has taken 216 wickets at an average of 28.14; by far the best of any Zimbabwean bowler, and in 189 One-Day Internationals, he has taken 239 wickets at an average of 29.82. His bowling is a precious commodity to Zimbabwe; and wickets are an even more scarce commodity. However, Streak's quality bowling has the ability to keep Zimbabwe competitive as he has for the past decade.

It is impossible to judge Streak on one test match, but that test match may have just been Streak's re-initiation to the international scene. If he can continue bowling the way he did against India, he will trouble quality batting line-ups, and it will prove to be the catalyst for Zimbabwean victories.