- NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 14/08/2024 06:12

Graham Thorpe, party lover with rebel streak

THE EDITOR: “I never found the game easy” – Graham Thorpe (2008). In an interview with Nagraj Gollapudi (Cricinfo), Thorpe, who was one of England’s most reliable batsmen, said being dependable is a lot more difficult than it looks. "I never found the game easy, ever. I always felt that if I ever relaxed in Test cricket I could be out. You have to know the difference between when to take a risk and when to be tough." He claimed that “Brian Lara could destroy any attack, at any time, on any pitch and he was somebody you could not contain when it was his day. Sachin Tendulkar was a smidgen away.” Thorpe was mentally strong on the cricket field, claiming “sledging never got to me,” and he learnt in the West Indies that the first important thing about being an international batsman is that if you can’t play a ball at 90 mph at your head, you better go and get another job. Thorpe was fielding when Lara made 375 in Antigua and had the “honour” to be fielding when he broke the record again – 400 – in Antigua as well. The only fielder to have fielded during two world records. Sadly, Thorpe ended his life at the age of 55 last week, having battled anxiety and depression for several years. Mental illness is a real disease and can affect anyone. In 2002, the year he scored the third fastest double century in Test history (against New Zealand), he had to take a 12-month break from cricket, leaving the India tour amidst turmoil in his first marriage. This led to a bitter divorce and a battle with suicidal depression and alcoholism. He said “there came a time when I would have given back all my Test runs and Test caps just to be happy again.” Thorpe played 100 Test matches at an average of 44.7 and 82 ODIs at an average of 37.2. His playing career was marked by his ability to adapt to different conditions and opponents alike. In his autobiography, Rising from the Ashes, he admitted having problems with alcohol, but said it made him compassionate. “If I walk past some guy in a doorway I react very differently. Five years ago I wouldn’t have noticed him but now I wonder what terrible chain of events brought him down.” Like Ian Botham, Thorpe was such a great sportsman that he had a choice of pursuing both cricket and football professionally. His mercurial talent made him an international star in his Ashes debut at Trent Bridge (1993), where he scored an unbeaten century facing the mighty Shane Warne, now deceased as well. He also scored a century against the might of Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh in Barbados. His match-winning 113 not out against star spinner Muttiah Muralitharan’s Sri Lanka in 2001 will be remembered as one of the greatest innings ever played. Amanda Thorpe (his second wife) said her husband was considered a genius with the bat; he was also a party lover with a rebel streak and a free-spirited person. Her favourite memory of him was in Barbados, which he loved, enjoying a rum punch and listening to his favourite reggae after a swim. Thorpe took charge of the English team during the covid19 period and secured a nail-biting draw against Australia to avoid a seemingly inevitable whitewash. His final act with the English team then was to film an early hours get-together between the two sides that ended with a call to the police, which was leaked to the media. It was a reminder that, in addition to being brilliant with the bat, he was one of England’s most reassuringly human athletes. How ironic is it that a person described as mentally strong on the cricket field battled mental health issues off the field and was “run out” in such a tragic manner? Now that his innings has come to a close, it would seem as though the game was really never easy for him. May he rest in peace. TERRENCE KALLOO via e-mail The post Graham Thorpe, party lover with rebel streak appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.