England to pay tribute to Graham Thorpe in opening Test against Sri Lanka

Graham Thorpe and Old Trafford. (Source – Getty Images)

The first of the three-match Test series England will play against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford will be marked by a period of silence before the commencement of the day’s play, as well as the entire team wearing black armbands as a symbolic gesture in remembrance of Graham Thorpe.

It is also reported that there might be a video played encapsulating his time with England and beyond, simultaneously alongside spectators paying tribute to Thorpe, who played a total of 182 international matches for England (100 Tests and 82 ODIs).

Also Read: Graham Thorpe passed away after being hit by train, reveals inquest

After calling it quits from the game as a player, Thorpe was immersed as a coach with the England and Wales Cricket Board for a year in excess of a decade. The former middle-order batter was a captivating motivation for a flurry of English batters progressing through the ranks during his coaching stint with the national team as well as the England Lions (formerly known as England A).

Notably, England’s playing XI for the first Test against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford will witness four players from Surrey, Thorpe’s home county.

Also Read: England announce playing XI for first Test against Sri Lanka, Harry Brook named vice-captain

Thorpe, a domestic legend, also tagged as one of the most complete batters since the Graham Gooch-David Gower era, represented Surrey a colossal 341 times, stacking up a mammoth 21,937 runs at an imposing average of 45.04.

Interestingly, he was among the early advocates of Joe Root, campaigning for the young 21-year-old (back in 2012) to get him onto the roser for the tour of India when the batter was just starting to develop in terms of maturity and prowess. A few days after Thorpe’s passing away, Root opened up on his early memories of him during the late cricketer’s heydays, as well as his gratitude towards the veteran for doing all he could to convince the then-head coach of England, Andy Flower, to consider Root for the aforementioned series against India.

“He was a hero of mine as a player. He could sing you a ballad or rock your socks off at the crease. He could do it all. He could play spin well, play fast bowling, bat for hours, see it through or entertain; and he took all that knowledge into his coaching. I owe him so much. He gave me the opportunity to play for the Lions before I’d even made a first-class hundred. He saw something in me. I know he pushed Andy Flower so hard to get me on that Test tour to India,” stated an emotional Root.