England captain Ben Stokes pays tribute to seriously ill Graham Thorpe by ditching the traditional blazer and wearing his former coach’s name and number on a shirt for the coin toss ahead of the first Test against New Zealand
- Ex-England cricketer and coach Graham Thorpe fell seriously ill last month
- New England captain Ben Stokes paid tribute to Thorpe at Lord’s on Thursday
- Stokes wore a shirt with ‘Thorpe 564’ on the back, a nod to Thorpe’s Test number
- Stokes said at the toss: ‘We all love Thorpey and he means a hell of a lot to us’
England captain Ben Stokes has paid tribute to ill former England cricketer and coach Graham Thorpe ahead of the first Test against New Zealand at Lord’s.
The new skipper wore a shirt with ‘Thorpe 564’ on the back, a nod to the 52-year-old’s Test cap number, with Thorpe currently ill in hospital.
Ditching the traditional navy blue blazer at the toss to show the back of his shirt, Stokes said: ‘This shirt is on behalf of me and the team to show support for Thorpey and his family. We all love Thorpey and he means a hell of a lot to us.’
A statement released by the Professional Cricketers’ Association last month at the request of Thorpe’s family said the prognosis was ‘unclear’ for the former England and Surrey batsman.
The statement 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.’
There were no further details about Thorpe’s condition when the news first breaked, with his family requesting privacy.
England captain Ben Stokes pays tribute to ill former coach Graham Thorpe with his shirt
The 52-year-old, one of England’s greatest batsmen and an ex-coach, is seriously ill in hospital
A statement released by the Professional Cricketers’ Association back in March at the request of Thorpe’s family, said the prognosis was ‘unclear’ for the former England and Surrey batsman
Thorpe, 52, was just about to embark on a new challenge as coach of Afghanistan after being sacked as England’s assistant coach following the Ashes debacle.
He was respected as a batting technician throughout the camp, having playing 100 Tests and scored 16 centuries.
But his spell with the side ended in controversy when he was pictured drinking with England and Australia players in the early hours in Tasmania after the 4-0 series defeat.
Thorpe took his sacking phlegmatically, saying: ‘I’ve had a good run. Life moves on.’
He went on to begin a coaching career in Australia, where he worked with the likes of Steve Smith and David Warner at New South Wales, before joining the England and Wales Cricket Board as a batting coach.
He worked as assistant with the senior side under Trevor Bayliss and Chris Silverwood, stepping up to lead the team in this winter’s Sydney Test against Australia due to Silverwood’s coronavirus diagnosis.
Meanwhile, New Zealand won the toss at Lord’s and elected to bat first.
More to follow…