Graham Thorpe: Former England cricketer's family reflect on his illness and importance of seeking support

Graham Thorpe's widow, Amanda Thorpe, has opened up to Sky Sports on the former England cricketer's illness, the battles he faced and the support The Cricketers' Trust provided to her family.

Thorpe, aged 55, died on the morning of August 4, 2024. His widow Amanda later said he had taken his own life.

It was concluded there were "failings" in the provision of the former England cricketer's care in the months before he died as the coroner recorded a conclusion of suicide at his inquest.

• Former England cricketer Graham Thorpe dies aged 55
• Graham Thorpe 'spiralled into depression' after job loss, inquest told

The inquest at Surrey Coroner's Court in Woking heard he had "spiralled into depression" after losing his job as a batting coach in 2022, and he had tried to take his own life on another occasion.

Coroner Jonathan Stevens said at the inquest that the last time Mr Thorpe was seen in person by healthcare professionals was on March 26, 2024.

The former Surrey left-hander was renowned as one of the finest English players of his generation, playing exactly 100 Tests and scoring 16 centuries before retiring in 2005. He captained England on three occasions and served in various coaching roles for his country between 2010 and 2022.

Along with their daughters, Kitty and Emma, Amanda opened up to Sky Sports on Thorpe's life and how the loss of his job as England batting coach following the 2022 Ashes tour of Australia contributed to a deterioration in his health.

'Job loss was brutal for Thorpe'

Thorpe lost his job after a video he filmed of police shutting down a late-night drinking session with players from both teams was published in the Australian media.

"He did his best throughout the tour, he was disappointed with how it went results wise," Amanda Thorpe said. "Coming to the end of that, he went out for some late-night drinking with the opposition, which is normal at the end of the tour.

"The whole thing with the Covid stuff... they had to be told to go to bed or whatever, but he had the hi-vis policeman come along and he just thought, 'oh, here we go'.

"So he took a video of that, kind of thinking really, 'this is what we're dealing with here', type of thing. He sent it to a couple of friends and one passed it on to someone, and it ended up in the Sydney Morning Herald.

"He was absolutely gutted about that. And he's very private so it's unlike him to even record it. To me, that shows he wasn't in the right mind.

"But that happening was awful. He felt terrible. He apologised to all the players. So definitely coming back... not a good note, not a good way to end the tour.

"Obviously, he lost his job. He didn't see that coming and it was really tough for him. It was pretty brutal. He felt really let down actually. He wasn't great before but he spiralled after that."

It was a situation which Thorpe held on to and his daughters saw him become more closed off as a result.

"We noticed a difference and there had been times before, quite noticeable but not always talked about. He was a bit more reserved, not up to doing much," Emma Thorpe said.

Kitty added: "He couldn't really let it go and he couldn't really get over the fact he lost his job. He saw that as such a massive failure as well. It was very much in his head, he very much felt that he'd let us down.

"It's not just him. I feel like this is quite a common approach to people losing their jobs, especially his demographic. Being male, mid-fifties, having worked in a company for such a long time as well. I think it was a very big change and mentally, I don't think he coped well with it all, which we could very much notice.

"His energy, even just in the house, it changes the entire atmosphere really, and it was just horrible."

How The Cricketers' Trust helped the Thorpe family

Thorpe's family explained how The Cricketers' Trust charity helped both Graham and them through his illness.

Amanda said: "He was under the care of mental health psychologists from the ECB and he had a few remaining counselling sessions when he finished them.

"But he spiralled, he got a lot worse. We were struggling and didn't really know what to do. Then unfortunately he mixed some medication for anxiety with alcohol. He hurt himself, he nearly lost his life.

"And then after that, the PCA and the Cricketers' Trust were there for us."

Kitty explained: "They came to us and they kind of helped pull the threads together. They introduced us to other help that is out there, because even looking for it was beyond our capabilities at the time.

"They offered dad a six-week in-patient residential place that he went to. We felt very out of our depth. We didn't feel like we could provide what he needed. So we wanted professionals and a whole setup that he could go to.

"He did lots of physical therapy as well. The mixture of them both was a really good balance and he definitely came out of it with some new insights."

The charity has also ensured that Thorpe's daughters have had access to counselling themselves since his death, which both say has been of great help to them.

The Cricketers' Trust is the sport's leading charity, which works with the Professional Cricketers' Association to support the lifelong health and well-being of current and former professional cricketers and their families when they need it most.

Sky Sports News has contacted the ECB for comment.

For more information on The Cricketers' Trust and to explore ways to support the charity, you can find their website here.

If you are affected by these issues or want to talk, please contact the Samaritans on the free helpline 116 123, or visit the website www.samaritans.org

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