"He was our best player in the 90s, our most complete player" - Michael Atherton pays heartfelt tribute to Graham Thorpe
Former England captain Michael Atherton paid an emotional tribute to Graham Thorpe, his teammate of many years, who passed away recently. Terming Thorpe as a fierce and unflinching competitor on the field, Atherton went on to describe him as a sensitive and empathetic teammate.
The cricket world was shocked by the demise of Thorpe on August 5. An official statement from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed his death. The 55-year-old had been battling illness for the last couple of years, forcing him to quit his coaching assignments.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Atherton paid rich tributes to the departed soul and recalled his long association with the left-handed batter. He commented:
"Friendships in sport are not quite like nine to five friendships. You don't clock in and clock off. You are with someone for three or four months on tour, so you get to know players exceptionally well. Myself and Graham toured Zimbabwe and Kenya with England A when I was 21, he was 20. He was there right at the end, my last tour in Pakistan, so he encapsulated the whole of my career really."
The former England skipper went on to describe Thorpe as the team's best player in the 1990s and also hailed him for his fighting spirit when the chips were down.
"He was our best player in the 90s. He was our most complete player. He was brave and fearless against pace. He was highly skillful against spin - took hundreds off Murali [Muttiah Muralitharan] and Shane Warne. Most of all, he was a fierce and unflinching competitor. If we were 20-2 first morning of a Test and you saw him coming out, you knew he was in for the fight," the 56-year-old elaborated.
Concluding his thoughts on the late cricketer, Atherton admitted that things were tough at times, especially on long tours, but asserted that they had a lot of fun as well with Thorpe.
"Of course, when you live in and out of each other's pockets, it's not all easy. There are moments when it's difficult. But, we had a lot of fun with him. He was a sensitive, empathetic teammate and we'll miss him," Atherton said, summing up his views on Thorpe.
While Atherton represented England from 1989 to 2001, Thorpe was part of international cricket from 1993 to 2005.
Graham Thorpe's international career in numbers
A versatile batter who could adapt to almost any situation in a cricket match, Thorpe represented England in exactly 100 Tests, scoring 6744 runs at an average of 44.66, with 16 hundreds and 39 half-centuries. He notched up a famous ton on his Test debut against Australia in Nottingham in 1993.
The southpaw also featured in 82 one-day matches, scoring 2380 runs at an average of 37.18, with 21 half-centuries, which included a best of 89. Thorpe retired from the format in 2002 but continued to play Tests till 2005.