The men’s and women’s teams in The Hundred 2024 will wear black armbands during matches on Monday (August 5) to mourn the death of former England cricketer Graham Thorpe.
The former batsman passed away on Monday aged 55. Thorpe represented England in 100 Test matches and 82 ODIs between 1993 and 2005. He made his Test match debut with a century against Australia in 1993 and soon became a key member of England’s Test team. He was also a regular in their ODI team in the 1990s and played in the 1996 and 1999 World Cup.
In Tests, Graham Thorpe scored 6744 runs with the help of 16 hundreds and 39 half-centuries. One of his finest Test moments came during the 2000-01 season when he scored hundreds in Lahore and Colombo to help England to famous series victories in Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
A few months later, he recorded his highest score in a Test by scoring an unbeaten 200 against New Zealand in Christchurch. In ODIs, Graham Thorpe scored 2380 runs with the help of 21 half-centuries. After the end of his playing career, he also served as England’s batting coach.
Tributes have poured in from all quarters since the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed the news of Graham Thorpe’s passing and players taking part in the ongoing Hundred will also pay tribute by wearing black armbands. Teams will also observe a minute’s silence before the men’s match.
“Following the sad news of the passing of English cricket great Graham Thorpe, #TheHundred players will wear black armbands during today’s matches and all four teams will observe a minute’s silence before the men’s match,” Hundred said in a statement.
Following the sad news of the passing away of the great English cricketer Graham Thorpe, #TheHundred Players will wear black armbands during today’s matches and all four teams will observe a minute’s silence before the men’s match.
— The Hundred (@thehundred) August 5, 2024
On Monday, Southern Brave and Welsh Fire will face each other in the men’s and women’s competitions.
ECB tribute to Graham Thorpe:
Earlier in the day, the ECB also paid tribute to Graham Thorpe, saying the English cricket fraternity is deeply shocked by the death of the England great.
“There seem to be no adequate words to describe the profound shock we feel at Graham’s passing. More than just one of England’s greatest batsmen, he was a beloved member of the cricket family and revered by fans around the world,” ECB said.
“His ability was undisputed, and his capabilities and achievements over a 13-year international career brought much joy to his team-mates and the supporters of England and Surrey CCC alike.
“Later, as a coach, he guided England’s top talent to some incredible victories across all formats of the game. The cricketing world is in mourning today,” he added.
