Graham Thorpe’s wife says the ex-England cricketer died by suicide following a long battle with depression and anxiety.
It was announced last week that Thorpe, widely considered to be one of England’s finest ever batters, had passed away at the age of 55.
The former Surrey man amassed a total of 6,744 runs and 16 centuries across 100 Test matches for England, while also notching up 21,000 runs during a 17-year county career.
Thorpe took up a role in England’s coaching set-up in 2010 – after retiring from the sport five years earlier – and the legendary left-hander went on to work alongside the likes of Andy Flower, Peter Moores, Trevor Bayliss and Chris Silverwood.
But in May 2022, just as Thorpe was due to become the new head coach of Afghanistan, he fell ‘seriously ill’ and was hospitalised.
Speaking to The Times, Thorpe’s partner, Amanda, has confirmed that this was a result of the much-loved cricketer making a ‘serious’ suicide attempt.
And while there were ‘glimpses of hope’ in the intervening period, a devastated Amanda says her husband was ‘so unwell in recent times’ which led to him taking his own life.
‘For the past couple of years, Graham had been suffering from major depression and anxiety,’ she said.
‘This led him to make a serious attempt on his life in May 2022, which resulted in a prolonged stay in an intensive care unit.
‘Despite glimpses of hope and of the old Graham, he continued to suffer from depression and anxiety, which at times got very severe. We supported him as a family and he tried many, many treatments but unfortunately none of them really seemed to work.’
She added: ‘Graham was renowned as someone who was very mentally strong on the field and he was in good physical health. But mental illness is a real disease and can affect anyone.
‘Despite having a wife and two daughters whom he loved and who loved him, he did not get better.
‘He was so unwell in recent times and he really did believe that we would be better off without him and we are devastated that he acted on that and took his own life.’
The couple’s daughter, Kitty, says the family have decided to talk openly about Thorpe’s struggles to ‘raise awareness’ about depression and suicide.
‘We are not ashamed of talking about it. There is nothing to hide and it is not a stigma,’ she said.
We were trying to help him get better before and trying to protect him, which is why we said nothing. This is the time now to share the news, however horrible it is.
‘We’ve wanted to be able to talk and share and we’d now like to raise awareness, too.’
Kitty takes comfort in the fact Thorpe’s fans and former colleagues have remembered her father as the ‘complete character’ he was at the peak of his powers.
‘He had loved life and he loved us but he just couldn’t see a way out,’ she added.
‘It was heartbreaking to see how withdrawn he had become. He was not the same person. It was strange to see this person trapped in the body of Dad.
‘That’s why we’ve been so happy that the many reflections have been about his life before this illness took over. I’m glad that’s how everyone does remember him, rightly so, as the complete character he was.’ (Metro.Co.Uk)
