England have paid an emotional tribute to former batsman Graham Thorpe forward of day two of the fifth Take a look at in opposition to India on the Oval.
The 55-year-old died on the morning of August 4, 2024, after being struck by a practice at a railway station in Surrey, with a coroner ruling the dying a suicide.
The inquest at Surrey Coroner’s Courtroom in Woking heard he had ‘spiralled into despair’ after shedding his job as a batting coach in 2022, and he had tried to take his personal life on one other event.
On the Oval on Friday, on what would have been Thorpe’s 56th birthday, England paid tribute to the legendary left-hander who scored 6,744 Take a look at runs at a mean of 44.66 in 100 matches from 1993 to 2005.
The gamers wore headbands through the warm-up, depicting a silhouette of Thorpe and his initials. A spherical of applause was then carried out, with Joe Root particularly visibly emotional.
Thorpe’s widow, Amanda, and daughter, Emma, additionally rang the bell forward of the second day.
England have paid an emotional tribute to former batsman Graham Thorpe forward of day two of the fifth Take a look at in opposition to India on the Oval
The legendary left-hander who scored 6,744 Take a look at runs at a mean of 44.66 in 100 matches from 1993 to 2005
Gamers wore headbands with a silhouette of Thorpe and his initials on earlier than play began
Forward of the Take a look at, England captain Ben Stokes, who’s sidelined for the match as a result of a shoulder damage, revealed the affect Thorpe had on just a few of the gamers within the present squad.
‘Thorpey’s been a really influential character as a participant and a coach in English cricket,’ mentioned Stokes. ‘A number of of us in that dressing room spent numerous time with him coming by the ranks and, as we bought into the primary (England) workforce Thorpey spent numerous years round us.’
A mural in honour of the Surrey and England legend could possibly be seen outdoors the bottom the place he loved nice success with the county.
On the inquest into Thorpe’s dying, Coroner Jonathan Stevens mentioned that there have been ‘failings’ within the provision of care to former cricket star within the months earlier than he died.
The final time Thorpe was seen in particular person by healthcare professionals was on March 26, 2024, Stevens revealed.
After lacking an appointment with the neighborhood psychological well being workforce on June 28 2024, care co-ordinator Katie Johnson spoke to Mr Thorpe’s spouse on the telephone, who advised her he was ‘continuously asking for assist to finish his life’, the court docket heard.
Ms Johnson then spoke to Mr Thorpe who advised her he ‘hadn’t been out for some time’ and ‘did not see the purpose of being right here’ however had no rapid plans to behave on suicidal ideas, the inquest heard.
The coroner mentioned appointments had been provided to the cricketer however he ‘discovered it laborious to attend these’ due to his psychological well being, and in his judgment Mr Stevens mentioned ‘somebody ought to have gone to see him to correctly monitor and assess him, to do a face-to-face threat evaluation and perceive and tackle his care wants as required by the care plan’.
A mural in honour of the Surrey and England legend could possibly be seen outdoors the bottom he loved nice success together with his county
Michael Atherton (left) and Nasser Hussain (proper) additionally donned headbands on Sky Sports activities’ protection of the day
England gamers reduce emotional figures as followers at The Oval paused to pay their respects
Pictured: Harry Brook, Joe Root and Ollie Pope posed with their Thorpe-inspired headbands
Members of the group additionally wore them as they awaited the second day of motion in London
He added that saying ‘come see me in two weeks’ was ‘not an acceptable response’.
Writing in his Day by day Mail column on Thursday, former team-mate Nasser Hussain penned: ‘It seems like yesterday. When Rob Key known as, telling me he had some unhappy information, I instinctively knew what it was and but, like everybody who knew Graham Thorpe, his dying left me in a state of shock.
‘I used to be staying up in Richmond, North Yorkshire, with my household and my preliminary ideas, clearly, had been together with his household: his spouse Amanda and their children, his dad Geoff.
‘Turning my TV on a few days later and watching my Sky Sports activities colleagues Mark Butcher and Dominic Cork preventing again tears, having to react to the information as soon as it was public, it hit house that the sport felt about Thorpey in the identical means as those that performed alongside him.
‘Not many who performed with him had a foul phrase to say about him and we are going to see the love for him on Friday when the second day of the Oval Take a look at turns into a Day for Thorpey with Surrey, the membership he beloved, staging it in his reminiscence.’
Final 12 months, after his funeral, we got here to the bottom and I met Geoff for the primary time in about 30 years. When Graham and I performed collectively on tour, Geoff and I might have a beer, however I hadn’t caught up with him for a very long time, in order that was an emotional reacquaintance.
