Henry Olonga auditions for The Voice 16 years after exile

A retired Zimbabwe cricket champion Henry Olonga has shown his versatility, appearing on The Voice Australia.

The 42-year-old sung ‘This is the Moment’ in front of judges Kelly Rowland, Boy George, Guy Sebastian and Delta Goodrem in the show’s blind auditions.

Henry Olonga, 42, was a regular member of the Zimbabwe national cricket team from 1998 to 2003.

Protest: During the 2003 Cricket World Cup, Henry and his teammate Andy Flower wore black armbands on the field as a protest. They intended to ‘mourn the death of democracy’ after ‘horrible things’ had begun happening in Zimbabwe under Prime Minister Robert Mugabe

The ex-international cricketer played 30 Tests and 50 ODIs for his country, but was then forced into exile along with then-teammate Andy Flower.

The pair wore black armbands on the field during their 2003 World Cup match against Namibia in order to “mourn the death of democracy” in protest against the leadership of Robert Mugabe.

The decision ended his international career, such was the backlash that followed. He moved to England, living there for 12 years before leaving for Australia, where he now lives in Adelaide.

“I’ve been singing a lot of music since I retired from my previous career,” he said in the promotional video for his performance. “I just wanna sing now. Just sing.”

His performance has received praise on social media from former Australia coach Darren Lehmann, among others.