Former England cricketer Graham Thorpe 'seriously ill', undergoing treatment in hospital

The Professional Cricketers Association on Tuesday announced that former England cricketer and coach Graham Thorpe is undergoing treatment at the hospital and is “seriously ill” as his family also confirmed the same.

Thorpe, 52, was recently named head coach of Afghanistan’s men’s squad after being sacked as England‘s batting coach following a dreadful 0-4 Ashes defeat against Australia earlier this year. Thorpe’s next assignment with the Afghanistan team is scheduled for next month when they play against Zimbabwe.

According to the statement shared, Thorpe’s prognosis in unclear as of now and the family is seeking privacy at this stage. “Graham Thorpe has recently fallen seriously ill and is currently in hospital receiving treatment. His prognosis is unclear at this stage and we ask for privacy for him and his family at this time. Our thoughts are with Graham and his family,” read the statement shared by PCA on behalf of Thorpe’s family.

Surrey Cricket hoped for quick recovery of Thorpe

After PCA broke the news, the Surrey Cricket shared their wishes for the former cricketer’s speedy recovery saying: “The thoughts of everyone at the Club are with Graham, his wife Amanda, and family at this time. He is an icon of the English game, known by millions of cricket fans and forever a favorite son of Surrey CCC.”

Ever since the news broke out, the entire English Cricket Community is under grave shock as Graham Thorpe, the former Surrey left-hander, is regarded as one of the best English cricketers of his time having played precisely 100 Tests. The brilliant left-handed batter hit 16 hundreds and 39 half-centuries during his career and has scored 6,744 Test runs for England, averaging 44.66.

He had a memorable Test debut, when he scored an unbeaten ton against Australia in the second innings of the match, smashing 114 runs. His personal best score in his 12-year long Test career came against New Zealand when he knocked an unbeaten 200* in the year 2002.

Before starting his term with the ECB as the team’s batting coach, he was associated with Australia where he worked with some top players like Steve Smith and David Warner. He served as an assistant with the senior squad under Trevor Bayliss and Chris Silverwood eventually taking over the leadership in the Sydney Test against Australia this winter after Silverwood contracted COVID-19.