Remembering Graham Thorpe on his birth anniversary

The England cricketers and fans remembered Graham Thorpe on his 56th birth anniversary here on Friday. The former England batter passed away last August in Surrey, with a coroner ruling the death a suicide.

It was indeed a ‘A Day for Thorpey’ at The Oval, as his friends and teammates paid tribute to the left-hander, who scored 6,744 Test runs at an average of 44.66 in 100 matches from 1993 to 2005.

The players wore headbands, with a silhouette of Thorpe and his initials, during the training. His wife Amanda and daughter Emma were present to ring the bell ahead of the second day’s play.

Ben Stokes recalled the impact Thorpe had on his career and the team. “Thorpey has been a very influential character as a player and a coach in English cricket. A few of us in that dressing room spent a lot of time with him coming through the ranks and, as we got into the main (England) team, Thorpey spent a lot of years around us,” Stokes said.

Surrey, the club that Thorpe represented throughout his career, also honoured his legacy with a mural outside the ground.

(Assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts is available on Tele-MANAS 14416 and Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050)