Latest news with #GrahamThorpe
News18
a day ago
- Sport
- News18
Surrey To Honour Graham Thorpe On Day 2 Of Oval Test
Last Updated: 'Day for Thorpey' will be held at the Oval Cricket Ground, London, in support of mental health charity Mind, on what would have been Graham's 56th birthday. Surrey County Cricket Club (SCCC) will honour former England batter Graham Thorpe during the fifth and final Test of the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at The Oval. 'The life of England and Surrey cricketer Graham Thorpe will be remembered and celebrated on Friday, August 1, during the second day of the final men's Test Match in the series between England vs India," Surrey County Cricket Club (SCCC) said in a statement. 'Day for Thorpey' will be held at the Oval Cricket Ground, London, in support of mental health charity Mind, on what would have been Graham's 56th birthday. Graham took his own life on August 4 last year, aged 55, after struggling with anxiety and depression for several years. Graham played first-class cricket for Surrey County Cricket Club and represented England in 100 Test matches. After retiring from playing, he took on various coaching roles within the sport for both Surrey and England. 'A Day for Thorpey' will raise money for mental health charity Mind through the sale of a limited-edition headband which resembles what Graham wore when he was batting for England. The headbands have been co-designed with Graham's wife Amanda and daughters Kitty and Emma," the statement said. Money raised from headband sales and donations for 'A Day for Thorpey' will support the roll out of 'Thorpey's Bat and Chat", a project across England and Wales, in partnership with county cricket foundations and the charity's network of local Minds. Originally developed by Burton and District Mind, Bat and Chat is a 12-week programme combining cricket sessions with guided psychoeducation to support mental health and wellbeing. Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Amanda Thorpe said, 'That day will be very powerful. We want to celebrate him and his memory. His light was so bright. He'll go on." Kitty Thorpe added, 'Death and grief in general isn't talked about enough, considering it happens to everyone. It surrounds us. When you add the layer of death by suicide, that makes it even more taboo. 'I understand it's difficult to talk about – people don't want to say the wrong thing. That doesn't help tackle the stigma around it. We need to change the way we're addressing the topic. That's why we're working with Mind to do something to help that." Emma said, 'My dad was quite a private person, so for us to share his experience with his mental health, and our experience of it, it's important to me that we do that to help other people who have gone through similar things. And to start a conversation there and reducing the shame and the stigma that there is around these conversations." (With IANS Inputs) view comments First Published: Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Graham Thorpe to be honoured during fifth Test with ‘Day for Thorpey'
Graham Thorpe will be honoured during England's fifth Test against India at The Oval on what would have been his 56th birthday. Thorpe took his own life on August 4 last year – three days after his 55th birthday – following a prolonged struggle with depression and anxiety. The stylish left-handed batter – who scored 6,744 Test runs at an average of 44.66 and became one of only 17 men to reach 100 Test caps for England – was survived by wife Amanda and daughters Kitty and Emma, who are now raising money for mental health charity Mind. The family also wish to 'celebrate his memory' on 'A Day for Thorpey' on the second day of the England-India Test at The Kia Oval, home of Thorpe's former county Surrey where he played for 17 years between 1998 and 2005. Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Amanda said: 'That day will be very powerful. We want to celebrate him and his memory. His light was so bright. 'We're heartbroken. People would say 'don't feel guilty, you did everything you could' and, of course, we did. But I do feel guilty. 'We looked at some videos of Graham happy on holiday, for the first time the other day I couldn't do it. But then I don't want to remember all his suffering and how he was. 'I want to remember and celebrate Graham, so grateful to have had 20-plus odd years with him. We just move forward, but I definitely want to help. 'I still don't really understand it. How did it happen to Graham? But it can happen to anyone.' Thorpe held coaching roles with Surrey and England after his playing career. He was part of the England staff during the taxing 2021-22 Ashes in Australia, played under Covid restrictions – which Amanda said he found 'tough' – and was let go after the tourists lost the series 4-0. Thorpe was named head coach of Afghanistan in March 2022, then made a first attempt on his life in May of the same year and subsequently spent a prolonged period in intensive care. 'Over the years it worsened, until he couldn't get out of bed,' Kitty said. 'It was impossible not to notice his spark and whole personality changed over time to almost unrecognisable. It was awful to see. What started as a mental illness turned into a physical illness. 'Over two years he aged about 15 years. He looked really weak. He found the most easy, menial tasks so challenging, like making a meal or walking the dog. He started struggling to even do that. He lost his strength. 'We tried many different treatments, but nothing worked for him. Thorpe wore a trademark headband while batting, and headbands designed by the family and costing £5 will be sold to raise money for Mind. Amanda visited a 'Bat and Chat' session in Burton-upon-Trent, an initiative from Mind designed to support mental health through cricket. The sessions are to be renamed 'Thorpey's Bat and Chat' and funds raised from the day at The Oval will be used to roll them out across the country. Surrey chair Oli Slipper said: 'Amanda and the family have spoken very bravely about the difficult times that Graham experienced with his mental health and we hope that the Day for Thorpey will raise awareness and funds to help people who are struggling with their mental wellbeing.'
The Independent
a day ago
- Health
- The Independent
Graham Thorpe to be honoured during fifth Test with ‘Day for Thorpey'
Graham Thorpe will be honoured during England's fifth Test against India at The Oval on what would have been his 56th birthday. Thorpe took his own life on August 4 last year – three days after his 55th birthday – following a prolonged struggle with depression and anxiety. The stylish left-handed batter – who scored 6,744 Test runs at an average of 44.66 and became one of only 17 men to reach 100 Test caps for England – was survived by wife Amanda and daughters Kitty and Emma, who are now raising money for mental health charity Mind. The family also wish to 'celebrate his memory' on 'A Day for Thorpey' on the second day of the England-India Test at The Kia Oval, home of Thorpe's former county Surrey where he played for 17 years between 1998 and 2005. Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Amanda said: 'That day will be very powerful. We want to celebrate him and his memory. His light was so bright. 'We're heartbroken. People would say 'don't feel guilty, you did everything you could' and, of course, we did. But I do feel guilty. 'We looked at some videos of Graham happy on holiday, for the first time the other day I couldn't do it. But then I don't want to remember all his suffering and how he was. 'I want to remember and celebrate Graham, so grateful to have had 20-plus odd years with him. We just move forward, but I definitely want to help. 'I still don't really understand it. How did it happen to Graham? But it can happen to anyone.' Thorpe held coaching roles with Surrey and England after his playing career. He was part of the England staff during the taxing 2021-22 Ashes in Australia, played under Covid restrictions – which Amanda said he found 'tough' – and was let go after the tourists lost the series 4-0. Thorpe was named head coach of Afghanistan in March 2022, then made a first attempt on his life in May of the same year and subsequently spent a prolonged period in intensive care. 'Over the years it worsened, until he couldn't get out of bed,' Kitty said. 'It was impossible not to notice his spark and whole personality changed over time to almost unrecognisable. It was awful to see. What started as a mental illness turned into a physical illness. 'Over two years he aged about 15 years. He looked really weak. He found the most easy, menial tasks so challenging, like making a meal or walking the dog. He started struggling to even do that. He lost his strength. 'We tried many different treatments, but nothing worked for him. Thorpe wore a trademark headband while batting, and headbands designed by the family and costing £5 will be sold to raise money for Mind. Amanda visited a 'Bat and Chat' session in Burton-upon-Trent, an initiative from Mind designed to support mental health through cricket. The sessions are to be renamed 'Thorpey's Bat and Chat' and funds raised from the day at The Oval will be used to roll them out across the country. Surrey chair Oli Slipper said: 'Amanda and the family have spoken very bravely about the difficult times that Graham experienced with his mental health and we hope that the Day for Thorpey will raise awareness and funds to help people who are struggling with their mental wellbeing.'
BBC News
a day ago
- Sport
- BBC News
'A Day for Thorpey' to celebrate England batter
The family of Graham Thorpe want to "celebrate his memory" on 'A Day for Thorpey' during England's fifth Test against India at The England batter Thorpe took his own life last year after a prolonged struggle with depression and anxiety. He was former Surrey player will be remembered on the second day of the fifth Test at the ground where he had a 17-year county career. That day, 1 August, would have been his 56th a nod to the trademark headband Thorpe wore while batting, headbands designed by his wife Amanda and daughters Kitty and Emma will be sold to raise money for mental health charity to BBC Breakfast, Amanda said: "That day will be very powerful. We want to celebrate him and his memory. His light was so bright. He'll go on."Kitty added: "Death and grief in general isn't talked about enough, considering it happens to everyone. It surrounds us. When you add the layer of death by suicide, that makes it even more taboo."I understand it's difficult to talk about - people don't want to say the wrong thing. That doesn't help tackle the stigma around it. We need to change the way we're addressing the topic. That's why we're working with Mind to do something to help that."Thorpe famously became the first England batter for 20 years to score a hundred on their Test debut when he reached three figures against Australia at Trent Bridge in 1993.A stylish left-hander, Thorpe would go on to become one of only 17 men to reach 100 Test caps for England, scoring 6,744 runs at an average of his playing career, he held coaching roles with Surrey and England. He was part of the England staff during the taxing 2021-22 Ashes in Australia, played under Covid restrictions. He was let go after England lost that series was named head coach of Afghanistan in March of 2022, then made a first attempt on his life in May of the same year, subsequently spending a prolonged period in intensive care. "Working in the Covid bubbles, he found that tough," said Amanda. "He wasn't great at following rules at the best of times. He would turn up for a team dinner in the wrong clothes, that is if he turned up at all."The last tour he did when he was coaching, the Ashes, that was a really hard tour because there were still full Covid restrictions."It was all very stressful and he wasn't great on that trip. Then he came back, and, as happens, his job ended, then he got offered another job. It was hard for him, probably harder than we knew. He got a lot worse then, very quickly, actually."Thorpe died on 4 August last year."It was impossible not to notice his spark and whole personality changed, over time to almost unrecognisable," said Kitty. "It was awful to see. What started as a mental illness turned into a physical illness."Over two years he aged about 15 years. He looked really weak. He found the most easy, menial tasks so challenging, like making a meal or walking the dog. He started struggling to even do that. He lost his strength."We tried many different treatments, but nothing worked for him."In the run-up to 'A Day for Thorpey', Amanda has visited 'Bat and Chat' in Burton-upon-Trent - an initiative from Mind designed to support mental health through sessions are to be renamed 'Thorpey's Bat and Chat' and funds raised from the day at The Oval will be used to roll them out across the country."My dad was quite a private person, so for us to share his and our experience is important to help other people who have gone through similar things," said Emma."To start a conversation, to reduce the shame and stigma there are around these conversations."Kitty added: "Our key message is to speak up and reach out for help early on. There is help out there. It needs to be spoken about more."There are great charities like Mind and many more. Hopefully over time this will grow, there will be more help and services. That's what we're raising money for."If you're affected by any of the issues in this article you can find details of organisations who can help via the BBC Action Line.
