Graham Thorpe

Graham Thorpe

Personal information
Full name	Graham Paul Thorpe
Born	(1969-08-01) 1 August 1969 Farnham, Surrey, England
Nickname	Thorpey
Batting	Left-handed
Bowling	Right arm medium
Role	Middle-order batsman
International information
National side	England
Test debut (cap 564)	1 July 1993 v Australia
Last Test	5 June 2005 v Bangladesh
ODI debut (cap 122)	19 May 1993 v Australia
Last ODI	2 July 2002 v Sri Lanka
ODI shirt no.	9
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1988–2005	Surrey
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA Matches 100 82 341 354 Runs scored 6744 2380 21937 10871 Batting average 44.66 37.18 45.04 39.67 100s/50s 16/39 0/21 49/122 9/80 Top score 200* 89 223* 145* Balls bowled 138 120 2387 721 Wickets 0 2 26 16 Bowling average – 48.50 53.00 40.56 5 wickets in innings – – 0 0 10 wickets in match – n/a – n/a Best bowling – 2/15 4/40 3/21 Catches/stumpings 105/– 42/– 290/– 168/–
Source: Cricinfo, 29 November 2007

Graham Paul Thorpe MBE (born 1 August 1969) is a former English cricketer who played for England internationally and Surrey domestically. A left-handed middle-order batsman and slip fielder, he appeared in exactly 100 Test matches.

Early life

Thorpe was born in Farnham, Surrey, in August 1969. Naturally right-handed, when he was six years old Thorpe changed his stance to make it harder for his two elder brothers to get him out and because the boundary in his garden was shorter on the leg-side for a left-hander.

International career

Thorpe made his debut for Surrey in 1988, and his international debut in 1993. He scored a century (114 not out) in the second innings of his debut Test match, against Australia at Trent Bridge. Developing into a very highly regarded player, he was named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1998. Thorpe hit only one four in his hundred against Pakistan at Lahore in November 2000. It also contained seven threes, 12 twos and 51 singles. He hit another boundary before being dismissed for 118 from 301 balls. This is among the fewest ever boundaries in a Test century.^[1] However, Thorpe was also a highly capable stroke-maker: during his highest Test score, 200 not out off 231 balls against New Zealand at Christchurch in 2002, he and Andrew Flintoff compiled a partnership of 281 in 51 overs.^[2]

During the 2002 season, Thorpe had marital difficulties which were well publicised in several tabloid newspapers, and this seriously affected his play and his focus on the game. Seemingly disillusioned with constant touring away from his family, he announced his retirement from the one-day game and changed his mind several times on whether to tour Australia, eventually pulling out of the tour entirely. However, in 2003 Thorpe, with family problems put to one side, returned to the England team in the fifth Test against South Africa at his home ground of The Oval, where he was warmly welcomed as a local hero with a standing ovation. Thorpe scored an excellent 124 as England won the match to force an unlikely series draw, and remained in the side for series victories against Bangladesh away and at home, against the West Indies away and at home, against New Zealand at home, and in South Africa. He played his hundredth and final Test against Bangladesh in June 2005; in the two years between his comeback and his retirement he scored 1635 Test runs at an average of 56.37. He witnessed Brian lara's marathon innings of 375 in 1994 and 400* in 2004.

Thorpe announced his retirement from Test cricket after the England selectors chose Kevin Pietersen instead of him for the first Test of The Ashes in July 2005. Thorpe averaged over 49.00 against Australia, but given the impending back complaint and 2005/2006 winter tour unavailability the selectors felt the decision to replace Thorpe with Pietersen the correct one. After announcing the squad England chairman of selectors David Graveney described it as "the most difficult decision that I have been party to in my time as a selector".^[3]

Domestic career

Thorpe played another two months with Surrey before following up his test retirement with his retirement from domestic cricket in August 2005. He served New South Wales as a batting coach in two seasons starting in 2005/6 and played for UTS-Balmain in the Sydney First Grade competition. Thorpe was named as assistant coach of New South Wales in 2007 replacing Matthew Mott who was promoted to the position of coach.^[4]

Beyond cricket

Thorpe was created a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) on 17 June 2006.^[5] Thorpe made his debut as a summariser for BBC Radio's Test Match Special programme during the first Test of India's 2007 tour of England. He also appeared as a match summariser on Sky Sports' highlights coverage for the same series. He has written a monthly column for the UK-based cricket magazine, SPIN World Cricket Monthly, since December 2006.^[6] Thorpe is a supporter of the United Kingdom Independence Party.^[7][8]

Graham Thorpe's career performance graph.

International centuries

Test centuries

Test centuries of Graham Thorpe
No	Runs	Match	Against	City/Country	Venue	Start date	Result
[1]	114*	1	Australia	Nottingham, England	Trent Bridge	1 July 1993	Drawn
[2]	123	15	Australia	Perth, Australia	WACA Ground	3 February 1995	Lost
[3]	119	35	New Zealand	Auckland, New Zealand	Eden Park	24 January 1997	Drawn
[4]	108	36	New Zealand	Wellington, New Zealand	Basin Reserve	6 February 1997	Won
[5]	138	38	Australia	Birmingham, England	Edgbaston Cricket Ground	5 June 1997	Won
[6]	103	48	West Indies	Bridgetown, Barbados	Kensington Oval	12 March 1998	Drawn
[7]	118	61	Pakistan	Lahore, Pakistan	Gaddafi Stadium	15 November 2000	Drawn
[8]	113*	66	Sri Lanka	Colombo, Sri Lanka	Sinhalese Sports Club Ground	15 March 2001	Won
[9]	138	68	Pakistan	Manchester, England	Old Trafford	31 May 2001	Lost
[10]	200*	71	New Zealand	Christchurch, New Zealand	AMI Stadium	13 March 2002	Won
[11]	123	75	Sri Lanka	Birmingham, England	Edgbaston Cricket Ground	30 May 2002	Won
[12]	124	78	South Africa	London, England	Kennington Oval	4 September 2003	Won
[13]	119*	86	West Indies	Bridgetown, Barbados	Kensington Oval	2 April 2004	Won
[14]	104*	90	New Zealand	Nottingham, England	Trent Bridge	10 June 2004	Won
[15]	114	93	West Indies	Manchester, England	Old Trafford	12 August 2004	Won
[16]	118*	95	South Africa	Durban, South Africa	Kingsmead Cricket Ground	26 December 2004	Drawn

International awards

One Day International Cricket

Man of the Match awards

#	Opponent	Venue	Date	Match Performance	Result
1	Zimbabwe	Brisbane Cricket Ground, Brisbane	7 January 1995	89 (119 balls, 7x4)	England won by 26 runs.[9]
2	India	Headingley Cricket Ground, Leeds	25 May 1996	1 Ct. ; 79* (118 balls, 10x4)	England won by 6 wickets.[10]
3	West Indies	Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah	19 December 1997	66* (74 balls, 5x4)	England won by 3 wickets.[11]

References

External links

• Graham Thorpe at ESPNcricinfo