Veteran England batter Joe Root thanked former cricketer Graham Thorpe for his consistent backing of him after the latter’s death earlier this month as well. Thorpe tragically died at 55, while dealing with mental issues and other health issues on August 4. Following his stunning playing career, Thorpe served as England’s long-time batting and assistant coach at different stages from 2013 until the 2021-22 Ashes tour Down Under as well.
Root spoke to Sky Sports, “A lot of my interactions with Graham and where his biggest influences came were as a coach when he started the second phase of his career. It was quite surreal first getting to meet someone of his stature and talking about the game. I worked very closely with him for the next 12 years or so. He had a huge influence on my career and arguably without his backing and pushing my case, I may not have had the career I’ve had.”
“Clearly the work he put in during that 10-12 year period… he worked tirelessly. We had good, honest conversations about areas I needed to improve. Not just me but you look at guys that came through in that time: Jonny Bairstow, Jason Roy, Jos Buttler, James Vince, Sam Billings. He played a big role in Ben Stokes’ development. A lot of the scores I have got over the years in the subcontinent have been down to the basics I learnt from my very first tour with him,” he further added.
However, Thorpe was part of the England coaching setup when they won their maiden ODI World Cup title at home in 2019, beating New Zealand. Moreover, he also served as interim head coach for England’s T20I series against Pakistan in 2020 and the penultimate Test of the 2021-22 Ashes series as well. Joe Root also felt Graham Thorpe was among the standout batters of the 1990s for his ability to be equally adept against pace and spin as well.
“He was one of the players that stood out in that time. He was one of the guys that consistently performed when things were tough and when results weren’t always going in our favour, which I think is a great quality to have. Even when I was young and learning about the sport, you could tell he had a good game against both spin and high pace. He could play the short ball well but also had success in Sri Lanka,” concluded Joe Root.
