1. Graham Paul Thorpe was an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Surrey, and represented England in 100 Test matches.
138 Facts About Graham Thorpe
1. 2.
Graham Thorpe played 82 One Day Internationals including appearances at the 1996 and 1999 World Cups and deputised as captain on three occasions.
3.
Graham Thorpe was briefly dropped in 1994 but became an England regular through consistent scoring, although he struggled for a time to convert half-centuries into three-figure scores.
4.
In early 2002, Graham Thorpe scored the then third fastest double century in Test history as he made his highest Test score of 200 not out against New Zealand.
5.
Graham Thorpe returned for England after over a year out, scoring a century at his home ground, The Oval.
6.
Graham Thorpe was a member of the England side that won a national record eight successive Tests in 2004, and the following year made his 100th Test appearance.
7.
Graham Thorpe retired from playing in 2005 after non-selection for the Ashes and took up coaching positions with New South Wales, Surrey and England.
8.
Graham Thorpe was born in Farnham on 1 August 1969, the third of three boys to Geoff and Toni Thorpe.
9.
Graham Thorpe's brothers are Ian, four years older, and Alan, two years older.
10.
Geoff Graham Thorpe worked as a draughtsman and then as an engineering surveyor.
11.
Graham Thorpe first played men's cricket for village team Wrecclesham aged 13, moving on to play alongside his brothers at Farnham in the Surrey Championship.
12.
Graham Thorpe was a promising footballer: he represented England Schools at under-18 level as a midfielder and had a trial at Brentford.
13.
Graham Thorpe was educated as Weydon School and Farnham College, but did not complete his A-Levels and was unsure what he would do for a career until offered a two-year contract by Surrey.
14.
Graham Thorpe made his first-class debut aged 18 for Surrey against Leicestershire in June 1988.
15.
Just a few days later Graham Thorpe scored his maiden first-class century against Cambridge University, his unbeaten century taking 122 minutes.
16.
Graham Thorpe made two further first-team appearances that season, scoring 19 against Derbyshire in the County Championship and 15 on his List A debut against Glamorgan.
17.
Graham Thorpe established himself in the Surrey team in 1989, scoring his maiden Championship century at Basingstoke against a Hampshire attack featuring Malcolm Marshall.
18.
The 1990 season broke records for high scoring, however Graham Thorpe struggled with an average of 27 and made just three half-centuries from 18 matches, he ended the campaign playing for the second XI.
19.
Graham Thorpe top scored with 93 in the Natwest Trophy final although Surrey lost by four wickets to Hampshire.
20.
Graham Thorpe was awarded his county cap on 12 September 1991.
21.
Graham Thorpe had his most productive season of his career in 1992, amassing 1,895 runs at an average of 51.21.
22.
Graham Thorpe converted the innings against Somerset into a maiden double century and shared in a stand of 211 from 34 overs with Ali Brown.
23.
In May 1993, Graham Thorpe received his first senior international call-up as part of a 13-man squad for the Texaco Trophy, a three-match ODI series against the touring Australians.
24.
Graham Thorpe added scores of 36 and 22 in the rest of the series.
25.
Graham Thorpe was not selected for the first two Ashes Tests but the selectors made wholesale changes after an innings defeat in the second Test at Lord's including calling up Graham Thorpe despite him being viewed as 'out of form' with a season average of 25.
26.
Graham Thorpe scored 6 in the first innings before being caught at gully off a short ball from Merv Hughes.
27.
The Test match was drawn with Graham Thorpe named as man of the match.
28.
Graham Thorpe made a half-century in the fifth Test at Edgbaston but missed the final Test at The Oval after breaking his left thumb in a net session on the first morning of the match.
29.
Graham Thorpe ended the series with an average of 46 and was one of only two England players to reach a hundred in the series, his partnership with Gooch at Trent Bridge was England's longest of the series.
30.
Graham Thorpe was selected for England's tour of the West Indies in early 1994 and played all five Tests.
31.
Graham Thorpe top-scored in the third Test at Queen's Park Oval with 86 before England collapsed to 46 all out in their second innings.
32.
Graham Thorpe was dropped for the home series with New Zealand in 1994, new chairman of selectors Ray Illingworth made wholesale changes with only six of the West Indies touring squad retained and opted for just five specialist batsmen with a five-man bowling attack including all-rounder Craig White.
33.
Graham Thorpe shared a 180-run partnership with David Ward which set a county record for the competition and Surrey's total of 343 was their highest in one-day cricket at the time.
34.
Later that summer Graham Thorpe was recalled by England for the second Test of the series against South Africa at Headingley, taking the place of an injured White.
35.
Graham Thorpe added 73 in the second innings and 79 in the final Test at The Oval to end the series with an average of 79.66.
36.
Graham Thorpe contributed three fifties in the first four Tests including 83 in England's solitary victory at Adelaide.
37.
Graham Thorpe was England's leading run-scorer across the series with 444 runs at an average of 49.33.
38.
Graham Thorpe continued his consistent scoring into the 1995 home series with West Indies, two fifties in the first two Tests extended his sequence of half-centuries to nine in nine Tests since being recalled the previous summer.
39.
Graham Thorpe became the first England player to surpass 500 runs against the West Indies in a home series.
40.
The umpire Dave Orchard had originally adjudged him to be not out before South African captain Hansie Cronje persuaded Orchard to get the third umpire to check the TV replays which did show Graham Thorpe to be out.
41.
Graham Thorpe had a better ODI series, scoring three half-centuries from six matches and was England's highest scorer.
42.
Graham Thorpe was selected for the 1996 World Cup and played in all six of England's matches.
43.
England began the 1996 season with an ODI series against India, Graham Thorpe was named man of the match in the second ODI at Headingley as he led England to a six-wicket victory with an unbeaten 79.
44.
Across the subsequent Test series with India, Graham Thorpe scored 193 runs at 48.25 with a highest score of 89.
45.
In England's first innings Graham Thorpe top scored with 77, however there was criticism of his increasing failure to convert his innings into centuries this being his 19th score of more than 50 in Test cricket of which only twice he had reached a hundred.
46.
England lost the Lord's Test and again at the Oval where Graham Thorpe had added another fifty to end the Test series with 159 runs at 31.80.
47.
In county cricket, Graham Thorpe had a strong season with six centuries, including five in his nine County Championship matches.
48.
Graham Thorpe was the first English player to pass 1,000 runs for the season, and ended the campaign with an average of 62.76 in all first-class cricket.
49.
Graham Thorpe made seven appearances for Surrey as they won the Sunday League, the county's first trophy in 14 years.
50.
Graham Thorpe was in poor form on the tour with Wisden describing him in the first Test as "horribly out-of-touch".
51.
Graham Thorpe was able to score 50 not out in the second Test before final day rain cut the match short.
52.
Graham Thorpe made it consecutive hundreds at Wellington as he scored 108, sharing century partnerships with Nasser Hussain and Crawley in the process.
53.
England won all three matches with six wickets being the margin of victory on each occasion, Graham Thorpe was unbeaten in the first and third match run chases with scores of 75 and 45.
54.
Graham Thorpe was dismissed to Glenn McGrath's first ball after lunch for 138, a Test best score at the time.
55.
Graham Thorpe ended the series as England's top run-scorer with 453 at 50.33, and was chosen as their player of the series.
56.
Graham Thorpe ended the season with a double-century for Surrey against County Championship leaders Glamorgan, batting for 438 minutes in making a then career best score of 222.
57.
In December 1997, England won a four-team ODI tournament in Sharjah, Graham Thorpe was named man of the match in the final after he scored an unbeaten 66 to guide England to a three-wicket victory over the West Indies.
58.
The uneven bounce led to several batsmen being struck including Graham Thorpe who was hit twice during his 10-ball innings, play was ended after the second such blow.
59.
The West Indies won two of the next three Tests with Graham Thorpe only managing 111 runs across those matches.
60.
In setting up a second innings declaration Graham Thorpe added 36 off 35 balls which included three pulled fours in a single Curtly Ambrose over, however final day rain denied England a chance of squaring the series.
61.
Graham Thorpe was reprimanded for dissent by the match referee in the final Test following his first innings dismissal.
62.
Graham Thorpe remained at the wicket for too long on being given out lbw, replays did show Graham Thorpe had got an inside edge on the ball.
63.
Graham Thorpe played in the first game of the subsequent ODI series before returning home early from the tour due to the back injury sustained in the fifth Test.
64.
Graham Thorpe was named in England's ODI squad for the home series with South Africa but suffered a reoccurrence of the back injury in a practise session and missed all three matches.
65.
Graham Thorpe was moved down the order to number eight in the first innings but managed only a six-ball duck.
66.
Graham Thorpe lasted just three balls in the second innings as he completed the only pair of his Test career.
67.
Graham Thorpe began the tour well by scoring a career-best 223 not out in a warm-up match against South Australia, putting together an unbroken partnership of 377 with Ramprakash which broke the record for highest stand by an overseas team in Australia.
68.
Graham Thorpe suffered more back pain while batting in the tour game against Victoria which forced an end to his tour.
69.
Graham Thorpe was selected in the squad for the 1999 World Cup staged in England and proved his fitness in the build-up by scoring two ODI fifties in two days during the Sharjah triangular tournament.
70.
Graham Thorpe top scored in their win over Zimbabwe, however defeat to South Africa and other results meant they had to beat India to progress.
71.
Graham Thorpe returned to the Test team for the four-match series with New Zealand.
72.
Tudor was on 84 as Graham Thorpe arrived at the crease but by outscoring him Tudor was left 99 not out when England reached their target.
73.
Graham Thorpe finished the series with 147 runs at 24.50, his highest score of 44 came in the defeat at The Oval which saw England lose the series and drop to the bottom of the Wisden World Championship.
74.
Graham Thorpe opted out of the winter tour of South Africa citing family reasons having been on England tours, including those with England A, for the previous 10 years.
75.
Graham Thorpe was recalled by England firstly for the ODI squad to play in the Triangular Series and following that to the Test squad for the third match of the West Indies series.
76.
Graham Thorpe contributed scores of 46 and 40 as England won the next two Tests, the latter innings was again ended by a Walsh slower ball.
77.
The tour of Pakistan in late 2000 began with England successfully chasing over 300 in an ODI for the first time as they won their opening match, Graham Thorpe scored an unbeaten 64 in putting on 138 in 17 overs with Andrew Flintoff.
78.
Graham Thorpe added 166 in partnership with Craig White, breaking a sixth-wicket record for England-Pakistan contests.
79.
The match was drawn as was the second Test where Graham Thorpe's stay at the crease lasted 323 minutes as he made 79.
80.
Graham Thorpe made contributions of 59 and 46 as England won the second Test in a match overshadowed by poor umpiring decisions.
81.
In pursuit of a small target of 74 the tourists lost six wickets but a calm 32 from Graham Thorpe completed the victory.
82.
Graham Thorpe ended the series as leading run-scorer with a tally of 269 runs at an average of 67.25.
83.
Captain Nasser Hussain left the tour with a thigh injury after the Tests and Graham Thorpe was chosen as acting captain for the ODI series, Sri Lanka won all three matches convincingly including inflicting a first ever 10-wicket ODI defeat on England in the last game.
84.
Graham Thorpe's dismissal brought collapses in both innings with Pakistan taking eight wickets in the final session to win the match.
85.
Graham Thorpe sustained a calf injury in the warm-up before the opening match of the Natwest Series, the issue caused him to miss the whole ODI tournament as well as the first Test of the Ashes series.
86.
Graham Thorpe scored half-centuries in the third and fourth ODIs with England winning both matches.
87.
Graham Thorpe reached his maiden Test double century from 231 balls, at the time the third fastest in Tests, his innings contained 28 fours and four sixes.
88.
Graham Thorpe made 57 runs in the next two Tests which were overshadowed by news of Ben Hollioake's death, a Surrey and England team-mate of Graham Thorpe.
89.
Graham Thorpe was on 61 when the ninth wicket fell but was able to more than double his score with the stand of 91 being a tenth wicket record for England-Sri Lanka matches.
90.
Graham Thorpe passed 5,000 Test runs during the innings, the 14th Englishman to reach the landmark.
91.
Graham Thorpe played in England's first three ODIs of the NatWest Series before being omitted from the rest of their matches.
92.
Graham Thorpe returned to cricket seven weeks later for Surrey in a County Championship fixture with Hampshire, scoring a second innings century.
93.
Graham Thorpe made 13 appearances in the National League and averaged 47.25, and featured in five matches during the inaugural season of the Twenty20 Cup including the opening night win over Middlesex as well as the victory over Warwickshire in the final.
94.
Graham Thorpe was selected for his third tour of the West Indies in 2004 for a four-Test series.
95.
Graham Thorpe followed that by scoring his 13th Test century in the next Test at the Kensington Oval under tough circumstances.
96.
England lost wickets regularly in their first innings but Graham Thorpe remained, and with support from the tail was able to reach three figures and put his side into a narrow lead.
97.
Graham Thorpe was named man of the match as England won the Test to secure a first series victory in the Caribbean since 1968.
98.
Graham Thorpe ended the series with 274 runs at an average of 91.33.
99.
Graham Thorpe contributed a pair of half-centuries in the second Test at Edgbaston.
100.
Graham Thorpe broke his little finger when struck by a Fidel Edwards bouncer on 91 but batted on to reach his 15th Test century with a score of 114.
101.
Graham Thorpe missed the final Test with Ian Bell taking his place.
102.
Across the series Graham Thorpe made 286 runs at 57.20 however he did drop several catches with Wisden picking out "his increasingly unreliable and slow performances in the field".
103.
At the start of the English season, Graham Thorpe was in poor form making 78 runs in five County Championship innings while missing a match due to a back injury.
104.
Graham Thorpe made 42 not out in the first Test and an unbeaten 66 in the second, during the latter innings he combined with Ian Bell to add 187 runs from 193 balls.
105.
Graham Thorpe was a batsman capable of adapting to attack or defence depending on the match situation.
106.
Graham Thorpe was considered a counter-attacking batsman in the early stages of his international career before evolving into a more 'pragmatic player of percentages'.
107.
Graham Thorpe was not considered a powerful batsman but instead relied on crisp stroke-play and skillful placement of shots.
108.
Graham Thorpe described his technique as akin to French cricket where he played the ball late, with a low backlift and was able to use his wrists to place his shots past the fielders.
109.
Graham Thorpe picked out his versality and ability to play Muralitharan.
110.
Angus Fraser assessed that Graham Thorpe would be remembered as a good rather than great batsman because of his 16 Test centuries he only went on to pass 130 three times.
111.
Graham Thorpe was viewed as a quiet man, but on occasion had difficulties with authority figures.
112.
Graham Thorpe clashed with his first county captain Ian Greig and was opposed to Surrey having separate dressing rooms for players depending on if they were capped or not.
113.
David Lloyd, England coach from 1996 to 1999, was critical of Graham Thorpe's attitude, accusing him of being surly and divisive.
114.
Ahead of Graham Thorpe's recall in 2003, Fraser and Mike Selvey questioned the decision as potentially disrupting the team spirit.
115.
Fraser stated Graham Thorpe was "his own man" who did not conform to the "little things that make a team a team".
116.
Graham Thorpe spent the majority of his career batting at either number 4 or 5.
117.
Graham Thorpe averaged 56.21 when batting at number 5 and his 3,373 runs in that position is an England record.
118.
Graham Thorpe was noted for his record in a winning cause and successful fourth innings run chases.
119.
Graham Thorpe averaged 62.62 in the 38 Test victories he experienced and averaged 108.25 in successful fourth innings run chases.
120.
Graham Thorpe was involved in four Test partnerships worth 250 or more, the only England player to have done so.
121.
Graham Thorpe's sixth wicket partnership of 281 with Andrew Flintoff was an England Test record for that wicket until bettered by Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow in 2016.
122.
Graham Thorpe scored multiple centuries against the six teams he played most often in Tests, but did not reach three figures against India, Bangladesh or Zimbabwe.
123.
Ahead of playing in the 2005 Bangladesh series Graham Thorpe announced he would coach for New South Wales the following winter as well as playing Sydney Grade Cricket.
124.
Graham Thorpe played for UTS Balmain and was available to play for New South Wales, if required, but made only one second XI appearance for the state side.
125.
At the start of 2013, the ECB split the coaching of the Test and white ball sides, as part of this reshuffle Graham Thorpe became batting coach for the senior England white ball teams.
126.
In March 2022, Graham Thorpe was announced as the new head coach of Afghanistan, but fell seriously ill before beginning the role.
127.
Graham Thorpe worked with BBC Radio 5 Live's commentary team for the final Test of the 2005 Ashes.
128.
Graham Thorpe made his debut as a summariser for BBC Radio's Test Match Special programme during India's 2007 tour of England.
129.
Graham Thorpe appeared as a match summariser on Sky Sports' highlights coverage for the same series.
130.
In September 2005 Graham Thorpe released an autobiography entitled Rising from the Ashes.
131.
Graham Thorpe wrote a monthly column for the UK-based cricket magazine, SPIN World Cricket Monthly.
132.
Graham Thorpe appeared on an Ashes special edition of The Weakest Link in 2005.
133.
Graham Thorpe was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2006 Birthday Honours.
134.
Graham Thorpe married his first wife Nicola in September 1995 having first met her on a Surrey pre-season tour to Dubai.
135.
The couple separated in late 2001, with Graham Thorpe leaving India for England in a failed attempt to save the relationship.
136.
Graham Thorpe met his second wife Amanda at a benefit function for his Surrey team-mate Ali Brown.
137.
On 10 May 2022, the Professional Cricketers' Association released a statement on behalf of Graham Thorpe's family stating that he was seriously ill, though the nature of his condition was not disclosed.
138.
On 4 August 2024 Graham Thorpe took his own life by stepping in front of a train at Esher railway station; he was 55 years old.