Graham Paul Thorpe, (born 1 August 1969) is a former English

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

er who played for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

internationally and

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...

domestically. A left-handed middle-order batsman and slip fielder, he appeared in 100 Test matches.

Early life

Thorpe was born the third and final son out of three boys in Farnham, Surrey, in August 1969. Naturally right-handed, when he was six years old Thorpe changed his stance to make it harder for his two elder brothers to get him out and because the boundary in his garden was shorter on the leg-side for a left-hander.

International career

Thorpe made his debut for Surrey in 1988, and his international debut in 1993. He scored a

century A century is a period of 100 years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. A centennial or ...

(114 not out) in the second

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). Innings, in cricket, and rounders, is ...

of his debut Test match, against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

Trent Bridge Trent Bridge Cricket Ground is a cricket ground mostly used for Test, One-Day International and county cricket located in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England, just across the River Trent from the city of Nottingham. Trent Bridge is also ...

. Developing into a very highly regarded player, he was named as one of the ''

Wisden ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "bible of cricket" was first used in the 1930s by Alec Waugh in a ...

Cricketers of the Year The ''Wisden'' Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', based primarily on their "influence on the previous English season". The award began in 1889 with the naming ...

in 1998. Thorpe hit only one four in his hundred against

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

at Lahore in November 2000. It also contained seven threes, 12 twos and 51 singles. He hit another boundary before being dismissed for 118 from 301 balls. This is among the fewest ever boundaries in a Test century. However, Thorpe was also a highly capable stroke-maker: during his highest Test score, 200 not out off 231 balls against

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

in 2002, he and

Andrew Flintoff Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff (born 6 December 1977) is an English television and radio presenter and former international cricketer. Flintoff played all forms of the game and was one of the sport's leading all-rounders, a fast bowler, middle-ord ...

compiled a partnership of 281 in 51 overs. During the 2002 season, Thorpe had marital difficulties which were well publicised in several tabloid newspapers, and this seriously affected his play and his focus on the game. Seemingly disillusioned with constant touring away from his family, he announced his retirement from the one-day game and changed his mind several times on whether to tour Australia, eventually pulling out of the tour entirely. However, in 2003 Thorpe, with family problems put to one side, returned to the England team in the fifth Test against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

at his home ground of

The Oval The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since ...

, where he was warmly welcomed as a local hero with a standing ovation. Thorpe scored 124 as England won the match to force an unlikely series draw, and remained in the side for series victories against

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mo ...

away and at home, against the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

away and at home, against New Zealand at home, and in South Africa. He played his hundredth and final Test against Bangladesh in June 2005; in the two years between his comeback and his retirement he scored 1635 Test runs at an average of 56.37. He witnessed both of Brian Lara's marathon innings of 375 in 1994 and 400* in 2004. Thorpe announced his retirement from Test cricket after the England selectors chose

Kevin Pietersen Kevin Peter Pietersen (born 27 June 1980) is a cricket commentator, conservationist, and former England international cricket player. He is a right-handed batsman and occasional off spin bowler who played in all three formats for England bet ...

instead of him for the first Test of

The Ashes The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. The term originated in a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, '' The Sporting Times'', immediately after Australia's 1882 victory at The Oval, its first ...

in July 2005. Thorpe averaged over 49 against Australia, but given the impending back complaint and 2005/2006 winter tour unavailability the selectors felt the decision to replace Thorpe with Pietersen the correct one. After announcing the squad England chairman of selectors

David Graveney David Anthony Graveney (born 2 January 1953) is a leading figure in English cricket and former chairman of the England Test selectors, a post he held from 1997 until 2008. Graveney attended Millfield School in Somerset. He led a successful fir ...

described it as "the most difficult decision that I have been party to in my time as a selector".

International centuries

During his career Thorpe made 16

centuries A century is a period of 100 years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. A centennial or ...

in international cricket, all 16 of which were scored in Tests, sits hundred and two in the list of century-makers in international cricket.

Key

* * Remained

not out In cricket, a batter is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batter is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress. Occurrence At least one batter is not out at ...

* Man of the match *

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of England in that match

Test cricket centuries

Domestic career

Thorpe played another two months with Surrey before following up his test retirement with his retirement from domestic cricket in August 2005. He served

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

as a batting coach in two seasons starting in 2005/6 and played for

UTS-Balmain Sydney Cricket Club play in the Sydney Grade Cricket Competition. In 2007 the UTS-Balmain club formed a partnership with the Sydney Cricket Ground Trust and are now known as Sydney CC or Sydney Cricket Club or just simply Sydney Tigers. The Tig ...

in the Sydney First Grade competition. Thorpe was named as assistant coach of New South Wales in 2007 replacing

Matthew Mott Matthew Peter Mott (born 3 October 1973) is an Australian cricket coach and a former first-class cricketer. He is the former coach of the Australian Women's Cricket Team. He currently coaches the England men's white-ball cricket team. Playing ...

who was promoted to the position of coach.

Post–playing career

Thorpe was created a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) on 17 June 2006. He made his debut as a summariser for BBC Radio's

Test Match Special ''Test Match Special'' (also known as ''TMS'') is a British sports radio programme, originally, as its name implies, dealing exclusively with Test cricket matches, but currently covering any professional cricket. It broadcasts on BBC Radio 4 LW ...

programme during the first Test of India's 2007 tour of England. He also appeared as a match summariser on

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...

' highlights coverage for the same series. He wrote a monthly column for the UK-based cricket magazine, '' SPIN World Cricket Monthly''. Thorpe was involved as batting coach for the England team between 2010 and 2022. Thorpe stepped down as England batting coach in February 2022 following their 4-0 Ashes defeat by Australia. In March 2022, Thorpe was made head coach of

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...

Personal life

Thorpe is married to Amanda. In May 2022, it was revealed that Thorpe had been hospitalised for a "serious illness" with an "unclear prognosis".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thorpe, Graham 1969 births Living people England One Day International cricketers England Test cricketers English cricketers of 1969 to 2000 Cricketers at the 1996 Cricket World Cup Cricketers at the 1999 Cricket World Cup Cricketers who made a century on Test debut English cricketers Surrey cricketers Wisden Cricketers of the Year Members of the Order of the British Empire People from Farnham English cricket coaches Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Test and County Cricket Board Under-25s XI cricketers