'I Watch The Drives, The Pulls...': Graham Thorpe's Father Reminisces Over Son's Abilities With Willow
English cricketing great Graham Thorpe stunned the world when he decided to step in front of a train and end his life in a culmination of his struggles with mental health.
The 55-year-old former English batter, who has amassed over 6000 runs and averages over 44 in Test cricket, serves as a cautionary tale for future generations to keep a check on their mental well-being.
Graham's father, Geoff Thorpe, opened up on coping with the untimely loss of his son and reminisced about Graham's impeccable ability to pick the gaps on the cricket field irrespective of the geographical location of the venue.
'I watch the shots: the cover drives, the pulls – it's a nice feeling," Geoff told the Telegraph.
'I've got one video where he got a hundred in the Benson & Hedges Cup. David Lloyd was commentating and he said, 'Watch his eyes – he's looking at the gaps'. You watch and think, 'Yes, that's where the ball went'," he revealed.
'I have a lot of pride in what he did. You can't take it away. It's just a shame that he couldn't cope with his mental health," Thorpe senior said.
Geoff opened up on the support he received following the demise of the celebrated batter and opined that the more one tries to suppress the struggle, the more flagrant it becomes.
'When he died, I received a lot of letters. This suicide, this mental health, it's a big, big problem. It smothers you if you don't talk."
Geoff also touched up on the trait of 'masculinity' retraining men from processing emotions and feeling as they are meant to be inferred.
'I go to his grave occasionally. You have your moments of grief. But you try to find something to do very quickly. We all grieve differently. Sometimes us chaps are a little bit macho. We think we can cope. In fact we can't," Geoff said.
Graham's world came crashing down when he lost his job as the assistant coach of the English side following the 2021-22 Ashes tour, which marked the beginning of an unfortunate close to the life of the classy batter.
England begin their fifth and final Test of the series against India on Thursday at The Oval, where Thorpe spent nearly two decades plying his trade for Surrey and the national side, and headbands commemorating the fabled batter will be sold with the proceeds going towards charity.
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