From Cricketer To Singer: Henry Olonga’s Journey Beyond Cricket

In this article we will have a closer look at Henry Olonga’s journey from a cricketer to singing maestro and even beyond that!

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Henry Olongo is a former cricketer who played for Zimbabwe as a right-arm pacer. His cricket career ended due to his protest against the ruling government and he has to face repercussions. Later he shifted to Britain where he participated in a cricket program and met his wife. After a certain time, he started his second innings of life – Singing. He is now happily living a peaceful life with his family in Australia.

Henry Olonga’s early life

Henry Olonga was born in Lusaka Zambia but he later shifted to Bulawayo due to his father’s wish to get good facilities in studies. He once played a match via his school against Brighton College where he scored an impressive 103 runs and took 8 wickets exceeding only 15 runs and then there was no going back for him. He was picked up by Matabeleland for national primary schools cricket week. He made his debut in first-class cricket in March 1994 at the age of 17. He played for Matabeleland against Mashonaland in the Logan Cup at Harare Sports Club and performed extraordinarily well by taking 5 wickets.

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From Cricketer To Singer: Henry Olonga's Journey Beyond Cricket

His father was not happy with his dream of pursuing cricket as they were Kenyan and playing for another country was not acceptable to him but Henry didn’t listen to anyone but his heart and he continued following his dream. He soon made a debut against Pakistan for Zimbabwe in a test match in January 1995.

Rejecting his Kenya citizenship Henry became the youngest player to play international cricket for Zimbabwe, aged 18 years and 212 days. He grew up watching the likes of Malcolm Marshall and Allan Donald, whom he considered his childhood heroes. He took a wicket in his first over but it was called out as a ‘no-ball’ because of his throwing action. He later joined the MRF Pace Foundation by Dennis Lillee and worked on his action.

Later, Henry Olonga was enlisted as one of the fastest pacers in the country. It was 1998 when he proved his talent and took his first five-wicket haul (5 – 70) against India. It was Zimbabwe’s second Test win in international cricket and he became the architect of that victory.

Henry was fondly called the singing seamer after he sang ‘OUR ZIMBABWE’ song in 2001, which garnered him a lot of praise and attention from the cricket world.

Henry Olonga’s protest against the Kenya ruler!

Henry Olonga’s downfall in cricket started soon after he wore a black armband, along with his teammate Andy Flower, during an ODI match between Zimbabwe and Namibia. It was their way of protesting against the ruling government of Kenya for prohibition of democracy.

From Cricketer To Singer: Henry Olonga's Journey Beyond Cricket

After that match, he had to face the repercussions of this protest in a cricket match. He received death threats and was not selected to play in the team. He was called off as a rebel and soon he realized the dictatorship of the ruling party because of which he had to hide from the limelight and took refuge in England.

Henry Olonga didn’t feel good about the fact that people considered him as a rebel for protesting against the ruling party. He got depressed because of the repercussions he faced but still, he gave his best. Sadly, in 2003, Henry had to leave his dreams and promising cricket career behind.

Olongo’s Journey Beyond Cricket

Henry Olonga met his wife Tara Read when they were attending the Australian Institute of Sports Cricket program in Adelaide. The couple tied the knot in 2004.

After leaving cricket, Henry decided to give one more chance to his talent. In 2006, Henry participated in the popular reality show ‘Five’s The All-Star Talent Show’ and won with 50% of the votes.
Henry revamped his career as a cricket commentator and singer. In 2010 Vision Sports Publishing released his autobiography – Blood Sweat and Treason. It got longlisted for the ‘William Hill Sports Book Of The Year 2010’.

Henry Olonga lived in Britain for 12 years in exile before he along with his wife shifted to Australia. In 2016, he made his singing debut in a charity event, performing Nessun Dorma, at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Later in 2019, he participated as a contestant on the eighth season of the Australian reality show ‘The Voice’ and performed Anthony Warlow’s song – This Is the Moment, in the audition.
He got selected in the auditions but later he was eliminated in the Battle round because he forgot the lyrics of the song during the performance. Time and again, Henry has stated that singing is his second innings of life.

In August 2019, he joined the fundraiser of the African AIDS Foundation to raise funds for the organization. He was appointed as global ambassador for Anglican Aid. Henry Olonga and his family lived a life, that was no less than a roller-coaster, however, they lived through challenges that life threw at them. They are now residing peacefully in Adelaide. Henry, who was once a cricketer, is now living the journey beyond the excellence of cricket and exploring his other talents. He is truly an inspiration!