Watch: Former Zimbabwe Pacer Henry Olonga Goes Viral With Incredible Performance In 'The Voice Australia'
Henry Olonga, a handy medium-pacer in his playing days, is also a singer of great promise.
Highlights
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Henry Olonga wows 'The Voice Australia' judges
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Henry Olonga sang "This is the moment" by Anthony Warlow in the audition
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Henry Olonga played 30 Tests and 50 ODIs for Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe pacer Henry Olonga last appeared on the international cricket stage in the 2003 World Cup in a Super 6 match against Kenya and little is known about him post that. The former Zimbabwe cricketer will forever be remembered for his battles with Sachin Tendulkar at Sharjah where he gained prominence for first dismissing the Master Blaster and then facing his wrath in the very next match. However, Henry Olonga has appeared from obscurity and given fans and his peers something that will be hard to forget. The Zimbabwe pacer appeared on the singing talent show called ' The Voice Australia' and through his rendition of the song "This is the moment" by Anthony Warlow blew away the judges of the show and fans across all social media platforms.
Incredible. Former Zimbabwe Test cricketer @henryolonga blew away the judges in The Voice Australia. pic.twitter.com/F1atWAS2fT
— Derek Alberts (@derekalberts1) May 28, 2019
Henry Olonga is also famous for shocking India in the 1999 World Cup match at Leicester, where he claimed three Indian wickets with India needing just nine runs of two overs. Zimbabwe won the match by three runs.
"I've been singing a lot of music since I retired from my previous career. I just wanna sing now. Just sing," said Henry Olonga.
In a teaser for his blind audition, Henry Olonga spoke up about how his decision to wear a black armband in protest to "mourn the death of democracy in Zimbabwe" ended up costing his career.
"I grew up in a country called Zimbabwe. A lot of terrible things had happened in Zimbabwe, human right abuses when a man called Robert Mugabe came to the helm. This led to myself and Andy Flower to do a protest at the World Cup 2003. We wore black armbands as symbols of mourning the death of democracy. I lost my career and I then got exiled after receiving death threats in Zimbabwe. I finally settled in the UK for 12 years before coming to Australia," said Henry Olonga in 'The Voice Australia' teaser.
Exiled for protesting the death of democracy. Catch Henry Olonga's Blind Audition TONIGHT, 7.30 on @Channel9 #TheVoiceAU pic.twitter.com/PtHChI2WNb
— The Voice Australia (@TheVoiceAU) May 27, 2019
Former cricketers like Michael Vaughan, Shaun Pollock among others were blown away by Olonga's performance.
This is bloody Fantastic ... https://t.co/5WGaGWY7vw
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) May 28, 2019
Great Job Bud... loving it..from the first time I heard you sing .. I have always been impressed..@henryolonga . The Blind Auditions: Henry Olonga sings 'This Is the Moment' | The Voice... https://t.co/J8pbCrvHO9 via @YouTube
— Shaun Pollock (@7polly7) May 27, 2019
Just watched @henryolonga on @TheVoiceAU, what a great performance. Good luck Henry!
— Darren Lehmann (@darren_lehmann) May 27, 2019
Henry Olonga played 30 Tests for Zimbabwe, taking 68 wickets at an average of 38.52. Olonga also played 50 One-day Internationals, taking 50 wickets at a strike rate of 35.5 and an economy rate of 34.08.
Zimbabwe Cricket Team
India Cricket Team
Sachin Tendulkar