Cricket World Mourns Loss of Graham Thorpe

The cricketing world was plunged into mourning on Monday with the passing of former England batsman Graham Thorpe, who succumbed to a two-year battle with illness. Renowned for his elegant left-handed batting and fierce competitiveness, Thorpe represented England in exactly 100 Test matches between 1993 and 2005, cementing his status as one of the country’s finest batters.

After retiring from international cricket, Thorpe transitioned seamlessly into coaching, serving England on multiple occasions, most notably as the batting coach of the white-ball team.

England Test captain Ben Stokes, visibly emotional, paid tribute to Thorpe, his former mentor. “Very sad day when I heard the news. He was my first coach, going way back to when I played for the England Lions. I spent a lot of time with him. Got to know him as a person, great as a man, wonderful memories and he was a gem of a man. He is going to be missed by a lot of people,” Stokes said.

Thorpe’s coaching career was unfortunately cut short by illness. After being dismissed as England’s coach following a 4-0 Ashes defeat, he was appointed as the head coach of the Afghanistan cricket team. However, his tenure was tragically cut short due to deteriorating health.

A prolific batsman, Thorpe amassed 6,744 Test runs, including 16 centuries, at an impressive average of 44.66. His Test debut against Australia in 1993 was marked by an unbeaten century, and he went on to score a career-best 200 not out against New Zealand.

Thorpe’s impact extended beyond his playing days. His coaching career saw him work with New South Wales before joining the England setup. The cricket fraternity, including the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Surrey, joined Stokes in expressing their deep sorrow at the loss of a cricketing legend.