Former England cricketer Graham Thorpe told a healthcare professional he “didn’t see the point of being here” and missed a number of appointments in the months before he died, an inquest has heard.
The 55-year-old died on the morning of August 4 2024 after being struck by a train at a railway station in Surrey. His widow Amanda Thorpe said he had taken his own life.
An 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.
In the weeks leading up to his death, he had asked his wife “to help him end his life”, the court was told.
On Thursday, consultant psychiatrist Dr Amirthalingam Baheerathan was asked whether Mr Thorpe’s comments required an immediate review, but he said they felt he “wasn’t under imminent risk”.
He added that when patients miss appointments with the community mental health team, further attempts would be made to book sessions, with the possibility of virtual appointments or home visits.
In Mr Thorpe’s case, the situation fluctuated with some appointments attended and others missed, he said.
After missing an appointment on June 28 2024, care co-ordinator Katie Johnson spoke to Mr Thorpe.
He told her he “hadn’t been out for a while” and “didn’t see the point of being here”, but had no immediate plans to act on suicidal thoughts, Dr Baheerathan said in his statement.
Mark McGhee, for Mr Thorpe’s family, asked if he accepted people who are depressed may not say what they actually mean.
Dr Baheerathan said: “Not all the time. But there are times when in Mr Thorpe’s case he said that he will come for the appointments and he came for some of the appointments.”
He said the cricketer had agreed to come for follow-up appointments.
Giving evidence, Ms Johnson was asked if based on the information she heard in June, if she was comfortable with the two-week wait until Mr Thorpe’s next appointment, and she said she thought so given fortnightly appointments were classed as regular appointments and he told her he would attend the next appointment.
The last time Dr Baheerathan saw Mr Thorpe was 19 weeks before he died on March 20, 2024, Mr McGhee said.
Dr Baheerathan first met with Mr Thorpe in October 2022, after he had been transferred to the community mental health recovery services in August following his discharge from a private hospital.
Mr Thorpe had been diagnosed with moderate depressive disorder, Dr Baheerathan told the court, adding his depression was “fluctuating” and that at some points he was severely depressed.
During a meeting in April 2023, Mr Thorpe mentioned he was having “active suicidal thoughts”, which was addressed by making sure he was accompanied when he went to appointments, the psychiatrist said.
The inquest previously heard that while on tour in Australia, there was an “incident involving a video that was taken that had adverse publicity”.
Mr Thorpe shared a video with some friends which was leaked, and the incident was “blown out of all proportion”, leaving Mr Thorpe “distraught”, Mrs Thorpe said.
According to reports at the time, the video, filmed after a dismal Ashes series which England lost 4-0, showed Tasmanian police breaking up a drinking session involving both England and Australia players.
Mrs Thorpe described it as a “horrible” time, and said the later termination of his employment with the England and Wales Cricket Board was a “real shock to Graham”, which was the “start of the decline of his mental health”.
Mr Thorpe was a mainstay in the England set-up for many years, first as a batter between 1993 and 2005 before spending 12 years in coaching roles.
During a distinguished international career, he struck 16 Test hundreds for England, including a debut century against Australia at Trent Bridge in 1993, and represented his country 182 times in all formats.
The inquest continues.
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