During his playing career, Thorpe scored 6744 Test runs, including 16 hundreds, and also played 82 one-day internationals. He played for Surrey from 1988 to 2005, scoring almost 20,000 runs for the county.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Graham Thorpe MBE,” the ECB said in a statement. “There are no adequate words to describe the profound shock we feel at Graham’s death.
”He was more than just one of England’s greatest ever batsmen, he was a beloved member of the cricketing community and was revered by fans the world over. His skill was unquestionable, and his ability and achievements over a 13-year international career brought much happiness to his teammates and to the supporters of England and Surrey CCC. Later, as a coach, he guided the best of England’s men’s team to remarkable victories in all forms of the game.
”The world of cricket is in mourning today. Our thoughts go out to his wife Amanda, his children, his father Jeff and all his family and friends during this incredibly difficult time. We will always remember the incredible contribution Graham made to the sport.”
Thorpe joined the ECB as head batting coach in 2010 and was part of the backroom team that oversaw England’s 2019 Men’s World Cup success. He worked as Chris Silverwood’s assistant coach but was one of several coaching staff members to leave after the 2021-22 Ashes.
He was due to be appointed in March 2022 to take charge of Afghanistan, but failed to do so.
After Thorpe was admitted to hospital in May that year, England’s newly appointed Test captain Ben Stokes wore a shirt with Thorpe’s name and England number on the back for the coin toss in the first match against New Zealand at Lord’s.
“Graham was one of Surrey’s greatest sons and it is with great sadness that he will not be walking through the doors of the Oval again,” Surrey chairman Ollie Sleeper said. “He was a Surrey legend and brought great pride to the club wearing both the Three Feathers and the Three Lions.
“He made an outstanding contribution to the club both as a cricketer and as a person and he will be greatly missed.”
Surrey chief executive Steve Elworthy said: “Everyone associated with the club is devastated by the tragic news of Graham’s death. He achieved incredible things for club and country and was a hero to so many cricket fans.
“Our thoughts and condolences go out to Graham’s family and friends. We will provide them with all the support we can. We ask everyone to respect the family’s privacy during this incredibly difficult time.”
A tough, counter-attacking batsman, Thorpe scored a century on his debut against Australia at Trent Bridge in 1993. He became one of England’s best Test batsmen in the 1990s and early 2000s, and was also a dependable One-Day accumulator, playing in the 1996 and 1999 World Cups.
His final England appearance came against Bangladesh at Chester-le-Street, his 100th international appearance, and Thorpe was left out of the 2005 Ashes after Kevin Pietersen joined the side.
Thorpe retired that summer and turned first to coaching in New South Wales, Australia, where he worked with young batsmen Steven Smith and David Warner. He then returned to Surrey to become batting coach. He then coached the Lions for more than a decade as part of the ECB’s England set-up.
