Former England cricketer Graham Thorpe asked wife to 'help him end his life'; was in turmoil after losing coaching job

Time of India

23-07-2025

Graham Thorpe. (AFP Photo)
Former England cricketer
Graham Thorpe
, 55, passed away in August last year after being hit by a train at Esher railway station. His death came not long after telling his wife about wanting to end his life, to go to Switzerland, following a period of mental health struggles that began after losing his England batting coach position in 2022, an inquest at Surrey coroner's court has heard.
His widow, Amanda Thorpe, revealed the distressing final weeks of his life. "The weeks leading up to his death, he told me he doesn't want to be here any more," she said as per The Times. "He asked me to help him end his life. He said he wants to go to Switzerland."
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Thorpe's downward spiral began after a controversial incident during the Ashes tour in Australia. A video emerged showing him smoking a cigar indoors against local laws.
This led to his dismissal from the England coaching staff, which his family believes was the turning point in his mental state.
"He came back from the tour of Australia in a terrible state," Mrs. Thorpe explained. She added that his dismissal was particularly hard on him. 'To be sacked after that — I think it was foreseeable that it would be really really hard on him,' Mrs Thorpe said. 'If he hadn't been on that Tour, then he wouldn't be dismissed and that was ultimately what he couldn't deal with.'
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Thorpe had previously attempted suicide in 2022, spending three weeks unconscious in hospital.
Despite being offered a coaching role with Afghanistan's national team later, Thorpe was too unwell to take the position. 'He tried to do it but he was spiralling down. He signed a contract and I had to tell them he was too unwell to do that job,' she said.
His condition worsened by June 2024, with Mrs. Thorpe describing him as having "no interest in food" and wanting to "hide away, totally isolated, in real crisis and despair."
Assistant Coroner Jonathan Stevens acknowledged the family's difficult situation during the ongoing inquest, which is scheduled to conclude on Friday. The tragic end came when Mrs. Thorpe discovered her husband had left home without their dog, and later received the devastating news from Geoff Thorpe, Graham's father, simply saying, "He's gone."
Thorpe had an illustrious cricket career, scoring 16 Test hundreds for England and representing his country 182 times. He will be honoured during the fifth Test between England and India at The Oval on August 1, what would have been his 56th birthday.
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