The whole of the cricket fraternity went into mourning on the 5th of August when former England cricketer Graham Thorpe died at the age of 55. The former England batsman, who was known for an almost unyielding resolve on the cricket pitch, committed suicide after battling chronic depression and anxiety. Incidents that led his wife, Amanda, to speak of the heartbreaking details in an interview to Michael Atherton brought out in public mental health problems that tormented Thorpe all these years.
Cricketer Graham Thorpe was battling severe anxiety
Amanda explained that even with the loving family, Thorpe’s mental health continued to decline rapidly because he felt his family would be better off without him. This sad belief reached its height when he tried to kill himself in May 2022, from which he had to stay for a long time in intensive care. Shortly after being released from the hospital, he showed some improvement, but the serious depression continued, and further applied treatments did not give satisfactory results. In an interview, she said:
“Despite having a wife and two daughters whom he loved and who loved him, he did not get better,” she said. “He was so unwell in recent times and he really did believe that we would be better off without him. We are devastated that he acted on that and took his own life.”
“For the past couple of years, cricketer Graham Thorpe 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.”
Raising mental health awareness was what mattered to Thorpe’s older daughter, Kitty. She said that the family had hidden it for the very purpose of not intertwining him with the society, but now it’s an urge from within to get the word out hoping to inform others and teach them what a serious matter this all is, and that something needs to be done.
“We were trying to help him get better before and trying to protect him, which is why we said nothing. This is the time now to share the news, however horrible it is.”
Thorpe was one of England’s greatest cricketers, a man whose wonderful career featured 100 Test matches and nearly 22,000 first-class runs. His career highlight came in 2002 with an unbeaten 200 against New Zealand, glowing for fans as both demonstration and testament to his great skill and dedication. He retired in 2005 but continued his association with the game, coaching New South Wales and Afghanistan.
