At the age of 55, Graham Thorpe passed away on August 4th following a protracted battle with a major illness and other mental health problems. Joe Root thanked the former England cricket player for his immense influence and unwavering support, which helped to mould him into one of the game’s finest batters in the contemporary era.
Thorpe had a great playing career before turning to coaching. From 2013 until the 2021/22 Ashes tour to Australia, he was England’s batting and assistant coach at different times. Root expressed gratitude for Thorpe’s beneficial impact on his career.
“I had a lot of conversations with Graham, and throughout the beginning of his second career, I was one of his biggest mentors.
The experience of meeting someone of his calibre and conversing about the game was quite weird at first. We collaborated closely for the following twelve years or so. During a discussion, Root stated, “He had a huge influence on my career and arguably without his backing and pushing my case, I may not have had the career I’ve had.”
Additionally, Root said that Thorpe had assisted a number of his peers, including Sam Billings, Jason Roy, Jos Buttler, James Vince, and Jonny Bairstow, in honing their craft. The former red-ball captain for England also emphasised how Thorpe helped Ben Stokes improve as a player. Root said that he learnt the fundamentals of scoring runs on the subcontinent from the southpaw.
“It’s obvious that he worked extremely hard during that ten to twelve-year span. We had frank discussions regarding my areas for improvement. Not just me, but also have a look at the players that emerged throughout that period: Sam Billings, Jason Roy, Jos Buttler, James Vince, and Jonny Bairstow. He had a significant impact on Ben Stokes’ growth. Many of the subcontinental scores I have earned over the years have come from the fundamentals I picked up on my very first trip with him, said Root.
He was one of those men who could always count on his performance at trying times: Joe Root
For the Three Lions, Thorpe appeared in 100 Test matches, amassing 6,744 runs at an average of 44.66. In contrast, he amassed 2,380 runs at an average of 37.19 in 82 One-Day Internationals. He scored sixteen hundreds for his country in red-ball cricket. The Farnham native was praised by Root for his ability to perform well under pressure and for his ability to play both pace and spin.
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“At the time, he was one of the players that stood out. He was one of those men who, in my opinion, is a great asset to have because he always delivered when things got hard and the outcomes weren’t always in our favour. He had a good game against both spin and high pace, even when I was just learning about the sport at a young age. In the same exchange, Root remarked, “He was not just a successful player in Sri Lanka but also a skilled short ball player.
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