Former England batsman Thorpe ‘seriously ill’ in hospital

Graham Thorpe

Former England batsman and assistant coach Graham Thorpe is “seriously ill” in hospital, the Professional Cricketers’ Association said yesterday. Thorpe, 52, had accepted the job of Afghanistan head coach following his departure from the England set-up after a 4-0 defeat in the Ashes, which took place in Australia in December and January. The PCA released a statement at the request of Thorpe’s family, which read: “Graham Thorpe has recently fallen seriously ill and is currently in hospital receiving treatment. “His prognosis is unclear at this stage and we ask for privacy for him and his family at this time. Our thoughts are with Graham and his family.” The Afghanistan Cricket Board, who confirmed Thorpe’s appointment in March, tweeted yesterday: “We stand with Graham, his family and friends in this critical situation. “The thoughts and well wishes of the Afghan nation and the ACB are with Graham and his family for his soonest recovery.” Surrey, sending their well-wishes to former plyer Thorpe, a “favourite son” of the Oval-based county, wrote on Twitter: “The thoughts of everyone at the club are with Graham, his wife Amanda, and family at this time. “He is an icon of the English game, known by millions of cricket fans and forever a favourite son of Surrey CCC.” A stylish left-handed batsman, Thorpe played 100 Test matches for England, scoring 6,744 runs at an average of 44.66 and hitting 16 centuries. He also appeared in 82 one-day internationals. After a century on debut against Australia at Trent Bridge, Thorpe soon established himself as one of the central figures of England’s Test team in the mid-1990s and early 2000s, with his selfless counterattacking style helping the team to emerge from the doldrums to become, by the time of his final Test against Bangladesh in June 2005, a side ready to compete on an equal footing with Ricky Ponting’s Australia in that summer’s legendary Ashes series. Thorpe coached in Australia, where he worked with players including Steve Smith and David Warner at New South Wales, before joining the England and Wales Cricket Board as a batting coach. He then worked as assistant with the senior side under Trevor Bayliss and Chris Silverwood, stepping up to lead the team in the drawn Sydney Test in early January due to Silverwood’s coronavirus diagnosis.