Graham Thorpe, a former England cricketer and coach who was considered one of the best Test bats of his period, died at the age of 55.
The England and Wales Cricket Board announced the death of Graham Thorpe, MBE, expressing sadness. “There appear to be no acceptable words to explain the profound shock we feel over Graham’s death. More than just one of England’s greatest batters, he was a beloved part of the cricket family and a hero to fans all over the world.
“His talent was undeniable, and his abilities and accomplishments over a 13-year international career provided joy to his teammates, as well as England and Surrey CCC fans. Later, as a coach, he led the top English men’s talent to tremendous successes in all formats of the game.
“The cricketing world is in grief today. During this incredibly difficult time, our thoughts are with his wife Amanda, children, father Geoff, and all of his family and friends. We shall always remember Graham’s outstanding contributions to the sport.”
Thorpe was a talented left-handed batter and right-handed bowler who played 100 Tests and 82 one-day internationals throughout a 12-year international career. He went on to play 189 first-class matches for Surrey, scoring 49 hundreds and an average 45.04 before retiring in 2005.
Thorpe was excellent enough at football as a youth to be selected for the England Schoolboys and offered a trial with Brentford, but he decided to sign with Surrey, where he would spend the rest of his career. Initially an all-rounder—on his first-class debut against Leicestershire in 1988, he batted at No. 8 and took the wickets of David Gower and Peter Willey—a back injury forced him to stop bowling seamers and would plague him throughout his career; by the end, he would require painkilling injections just to bat.
Personal issues also had an impact on him. In 2002, he took an indefinite vacation from cricket to deal with the long-term breakdown of his first marriage. After a “total breakdown” due to media humiliation and separation from his two children, he returned to the Test team in 2003 with a brilliant century against South Africa at the Oval. The following year was the most successful of his career, with an average of 73.15 in 20 Test innings at No. 5.
“I don’t know where my journey is going to take me over the next few years, but I’m going to enjoy working it out,” he stated in 2005, after announcing his retirement during the first Test of an Ashes series in which he had intended to participate.
“Of all the players I played with, [Thorpe] was the one whose state of mind most affected his play,” Mike Atherton once wrote. “A happy, contented Graham Thorpe is a world-class player whose presence benefits any team.” If something off the field is bothering him, he can’t ignore it and focus on his cricket.”
His relationship with Amanda, who would become his second wife, provided him with the stability he needed to do so, and at the end of his playing career, he transitioned into coaching, first in Australia, where he worked with rising stars like Steve Smith and David Warner at New South Wales, before moving to England in 2010, initially as a batting coach. He had most recently served as assistant coach on last winter’s difficult Ashes tour, which ended in a 4-0 defeat. Thorpe, along with the head coach, Chris Silverwood, and the director of cricket, Ashley Giles, were fired as the England and Wales Cricket Board sought a “red-ball reset.”.