England to pay tribute to Graham Thorpe ahead of first Test since death

England will pay tribute to Graham Thorpe, who died earlier this month, in the opening Test of the series against Sri Lanka.

Wednesday’s match will be the first that England have played since Thorpe, who played 100 Test matches from 1993 to 2005 and later worked as assistant coach for the national side, took his own life.

The period since has seen tributes pour in from across the game, reflecting Thorpe’s impact as a player and a man.

England will mark his tragic death with a series of tributes at Old Trafford.

A period of silence is planned before play on the opening day, and the whole team will wear black armbands too. There could also be a video played on screen at the ground as spectators pay their respects.

During an 11-year stint as a coach with the England and Wales Cricket Board, working both with the national team and the Lions, Thorpe was a major influence on a series of England batsmen. He was among the early champions of Joe Root, advocating his selection for the tour in India in 2012 when the Yorkshireman was only 21.

“He was a hero of mine as a player,” Root said after Thorpe’s death.

“He could sing you a ballad or rock your socks off at the crease. He could do it all. He could play spin well; play fast bowling; bat for hours; see it through or entertain, and he took all that knowledge into his coaching.

“I owe him so much. He gave me the opportunity to play for the Lions before I’d even made a first-class hundred. He saw something in me. I know he pushed Andy Flower so hard to get me on that Test tour to India.”

Ben Stokes, who also worked extensively with Thorpe, described him as “a great man and great loss to the cricketing world” after his death.

“I learned a lot from Thorpey – got to know him as a person. Great, great man, had some unbelievable memories with him  – great laughs,” he said.

England’s 11 against Sri Lanka on Wednesday will include four players from Surrey, Thorpe’s club throughout his first-class career, which ran from 1988 to 2005.