Before play begins in the opening game of England’s three-match Test series against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford, there will be a moment of silence. The team will also wear black armbands as a symbolic gesture in honour of Graham Thorpe.
Additionally, a documentary that captures his time with England and beyond is rumoured to be shown concurrently with fans honouring Thorpe, who participated in 182 international matches for England (100 Tests and 82 ODIs).
Following his retirement from competitive play, Thorpe spent more than ten years working as a coach for the England and Wales Cricket Board. During his coaching career with both the national team and the England Lions (previously known as England A), the former middle-order batsman was a compelling source of inspiration for a wave of English batters rising through the ranks.
Interestingly, four players from Surrey, the home county of Thorpe, will be included in England’s starting XI for the opening Test match against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford.
Recalled as one of the most comprehensive batsmen since the Graham Gooch-David Gower era, Thorpe is a domestic icon who played a staggering 341 matches for Surrey, amassing a staggering 21,937 runs at a commanding average of 45.04.
It’s interesting to note that he was one of Joe Root’s early supporters, pushing for the then-21-year-old to be selected for the Indian tour squad in 2012. At the time, the batter was only beginning to show signs of maturity and skill. A few days after Thorpe’s death, Root talked about his earliest memories of the late cricketer in his prime and expressed his gratitude to the veteran for doing everything in his power to persuade England’s head coach at the time, Andy Flower, to give Root a chance to play in the aforementioned series against India.
As a player, he was one of my heroes. He could rock your socks off at the crease or sing you a song. He was capable of everything. He applied all of his skills—which included playing quick bowling, spin, batting for extended periods of time, seeing things through, and entertaining—to his teaching. I owe him a great deal. Before I had even reached a first-class hundred, he offered me the chance to play for the Lions. He perceived something within me. An emotional Root said, “I know he pushed Andy Flower so hard to get me on that Test tour to India.”
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