Former England cricketer Graham Thorpe took his own life after suffering from depression and anxiety, his wife Amanda said on Monday.

Tributes poured in last week after it was announced that Thorpe had died at the age of 55.

Amanda Thorpe has now told The Times newspaper: “For the past couple of years Graham had been suffering from major depression and anxiety. This led him to make a serious attempt on his life in May 2022, which resulted in a prolonged stay in an intensive care unit.

“Despite having a wife and two daughters whom he loved and who loved him, he did not get better. He was so unwell in recent times and he really did believe that we would be better off without him. We are devastated that he acted on that and took his own life.

“Despite glimpses of hope and of the old Graham, he continued to suffer from depression and anxiety, which at times got very severe. We supported him as a family and he tried many, many treatments but unfortunately none of them really seemed to work.

“Graham was renowned as someone who was very mentally strong on the field and he was in good physical health. But mental illness is a real disease and can affect anyone.”

Thorpe was a mainstay in the England set-up for the majority of his life, first as a batter between 1993 and 2005 and then for 12 years in various coaching roles.

A stylish and fluid top-order batter, Thorpe played 100 tests for England. He scored 16 hundreds, including on debut against Australia at Trent Bridge.

His 6,744 runs came at a sterling average of 44.66 at a time when England was struggling. But the gritty, left-handed Thorpe was key to his country’s gradual improvement. He was also capped 82 times in one-day internationals for 2,380 runs.

Source: AP
--Agencies