NEW DELHI: Star England batsman and former captain Joe Root paid tribute to the late great Graham Thorpe, saying that without him, the Three Lions would not have had such a successful career.
Before Wednesday's first Test match between England and Sri Lanka begins in Manchester, the players from that country will pay their respects to the departed batter. A commemorative video will be shown on the big screen as the teams line up for a moment of applause prior to their national anthems at Old Trafford Stadium. In their coverage, broadcaster Sky Sports will also honor the batter, as per ANI.
On August 4, at the age of 55, Thorpe took his own life following years of suffering from what his wife Amanda called "major depression and anxiety". Thorpe was the cornerstone of the English batting lineup in the late 90s and early 2000s after making his debut for his country in 1993. With 16 hundreds and 39 fifties to his credit, the southpaw played 100 Test matches and amassed 6744 runs at an average of 44.66. His best score was 200*. With an average of 37.18 and 21 fifty-score runs, the rugged batsman amassed 2380 runs in one-day internationals.
Working with Thorpe as a batter coming through the ranks with the England Lions and later as one of the all-time greats with the England senior team in the late 2010s and early 2020s, Root described Thorpe as a "complete batter", a "rockstar" who helped him improve his game, particularly in subcontinent conditions.
"He was one of the players that stood out in that time [for England in the 1990s and early 2000s]. He was one of the guys that consistently performed when things were tough and when results were not always going in our favour, which I think is a great quality to have," said Root as quoted by Sky Sports.
"Even when I was young and learning about the sport, you could tell he had a good game against both spin and high pace. He could play the short ball well but also had success in Sri Lanka. He was the complete batter, like a rock star who could sing you a ballad and rock your socks off at the same time. I always looked up to him and took a lot of inspiration from him," he added.
When Thorpe began coaching the England Lions in 2010, according to Root, they had a lot of interactions, and the seasoned coach supported Root's role as a vital member of the squad. During this time with the England Lions, Root and Thorpe developed a close friendship that lasted for around the following twelve years. He also mentioned the part late batters played in shaping England's batting future, especially that of captain Ben Stokes.
"A lot of my interactions with Graham and where his biggest influences came were as a coach when he started the second phase of his career. It was quite surreal first getting to meet someone of his stature and talking about the game," said Root.
"It was about a year or so later, before I had even scored a first-class hundred, that he was involved in the England Lions set-up and pushed really hard for me to be involved in that team. I worked very closely with him for the next 12 years or so. He had a huge influence on my career and arguably without his backing and pushing my case, I may not have had the career I have had."
"Clearly the work he put in during that 10-12 year period... he worked tirelessly. We had good, honest conversations about areas I needed to improve. Not just me but you look at guys that came through in that time: Jonny Bairstow, Jason Roy, Jos Buttler, James Vince, Sam Billings. He played a big role in Ben Stokes' development," Root concluded his point.
Root expressed the team's gratitude to Thorpe for his assistance, highlighting his focus on certain game principles and his customized approach to each batter. The all-star batter gave Thorpe credit for raising his level of play in the Asian heat.
"There were certain fundamentals that he was big on - can you get really close to the ball and far away from it? - but he did not have one way of coaching. The way he spoke to Jonny would be different to the way he spoke to me and to Jos and to J-Roy (Jason Roy)," he said.
"A lot of the scores I have got over the years in the subcontinent have been down to the basics I learnt from my very first tour with him," he added.
Some of the most important things Root ever learned from Thorpe, came from his conversations with the late player about his issues with lift and cricket. This helped Root a lot when he was younger. He referred to his relationship with Thorpe as "special".
"Some of the best lessons I learned were not necessarily in the nets but over dinner or a few glasses of wine, just talking about the game, about shared experiences people can relate to. He was very good at that, talking about areas of his game he struggled with and similarly other areas of life as well," said Root.
"It is a special coach that can have that relationship with players and it was certainly one I managed to have with Graham. He could change the mood in the dressing room if things were quite tough, he had a great sense of humour, he could make difficult situations a lot easier and was always great fun to be around. That is something I am really going to miss."
"A lot will and should be talked about how brilliant a player he was for a long period of time, but we should remember the impact he has had on English cricket as a fantastic coach as well," Root signed off.
