Ahead of the first test against Sri Lanka, England cricketers will honour late batter, Graham Thorpe on Wednesday.
As confirmed by Stand-in captain Ollie Pope, players will wear black armbands in Thorpe’s memory & called him a “great man.” Further, Pope reflected on his time with Thorpe as a batting coach and valued his advice.
Quoting ESPN Cricinfo, Pope said ‘We will have our black armbands on throughout the course of the game and there will be a tribute to him before. It has hurt a lot of people in that changing room. He was a great man. I probably had two or three years playing with him as a batting coach. I really admired him.’
Prior to the national anthems, both teams will observe a moment of applause and a tribute video will be shown on the big screen. Sky Sports will also include a segment honoring Thorpe in their coverage at Manchester’s Old Trafford Stadium.
Also Read: Former England Cricketer Graham Thorpe Passes Away at 55: A Tribute to a Cricketing Legend
Who Is Graham Thorpe?
Graham Thorpe was an English cricketer, who has played 100 Test matches and has amassed 6,744 runs at an average of 44.66, including 16 centuries and 39 fifties. In One Day Internationals (ODIs), he scored 2,380 runs at an average of 37.18 with 21 fifties.
Later, her served as a England’s batting coach and assistant coach until the 2021-22 Ashes tour to Australia.
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Tragically at the age of 55, he committed suicide and struggled with severe depression and anxiety.
(With Inputs From ANI)
