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The cricket world is mourning the untimely death of former England cricketer Graham Thorpe since the 55-year-old died after being struck by a train at a railway station in Surrey.

Following the opening of an inquest into his death, his wife, Amanda, has confirmed that Thorpe took his own life.

Thorpe died on the morning of 4 August having suffered “traumatic injuries” during the incident at Esher railway station.

British Transport Police confirmed the incident earlier this week, saying, “Officers were called to Esher railway station at 8.26 AM on August 4 to reports of a casualty on the tracks. Paramedics also attended, however sadly a person was pronounced dead at the scene. The incident is not being treated as suspicious.”

Wife Amanda and daughter Kitty told The Times on Monday that he “took his own life” after “suffering from major depression and anxiety”. She also revealed he “made a serious attempt on his life” in May 2022, which resulted in a period in intensive care.

“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 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’s daughter Kitty said the family “are not ashamed” of talking about his death, adding: “There is nothing to hide and it is not a stigma.”

Between 1993 and 2005, Thorpe played for England and still has the record as the country’s tenth-highest scorer ever. Throughout his career in both Test and ODI cricket, the left-handed batsman—who spent 17 years with Surrey—scored 16 hundreds.

After his playing career ended, he became a coach and led England three times. Before going back to England to act as a batting instructor, Thorpe moved to New South Wales to train with Australian players. After taking Afghanistan’s head coaching position in 2022, he was hospitalised and deemed “seriously ill” in short order.

Looking out for friends or loved ones is an important part of preventing suicides. In South Africa, there are 23 suicides a day recorded and 230 serious attempts. If you or anyone you know suffers from depression or suicidal thoughts, please reach out to SADAG on 0800 21 22 23 or SMS 31393.

[source:sky&guardian]