Nasser Hussain pays touching tribute to ‘best mate’ and ‘little genius’ Graham Thorpe ahead of first Sri Lanka Test after ex-England star’s tragic death at age of 55
Nasser Hussain has paid a moving tribute to his former England team-mate Graham Thorpe after the former cricketer passed away earlier this August at the age of 55.
Ahead of England’s first Test match against Sri Lanka, which kicks off at Old Trafford on Wednesday, the ECB also paid tribute to Thorpe, with both sets of players lining up to watch a video tribute to the former England cricketer.
Michael Atherton also read a poem and there was brief applause before the national anthems of both countries were sung.
England and Sri Lanka players wore black armbands ahead of the opening day at Old Trafford in tribute to Thorpe.
Tributes have poured in for the former Surrey batsman, who was tragically hit by a train at his local station in Esher, Surrey, earlier this month.
Thorpe’s international career lasted from 1993 to 2005, during which time the England star played alongside Hussain.
Nasser Hussain paid a moving tribute to his former England teammate Graham Thorpe on Tuesday
Before England’s first Test match against Sri Lanka, both teams held a minute’s applause in honour of Thorpe
“He was one of my best friends,” Hussain told Sky Sports, speaking of his former team-mate.
‘He was so much fun, such a pleasure to be around, just my type.’
“He would never say anything in a team environment. He didn’t have to walk into a room and tell you how good he was. He just knew how good he was.”
During the emotional interview, Hussain spoke of some of the “special memories” he had from his time on tour with Thorpe and the camaraderie the two shared.
‘My special memories come from the team meetings in his room or in my room, playing with bat handles and comparing bats.
‘And when I look back on it now, it was less about the bat handles and the bats and more about dealing with life as an international cricketer and all the pressures that come with it. [come with that].Preparing yourself and your mind for the next day.
“He was always there for me in my darkest moments. And that’s probably what saddens me the most now: that I wasn’t there for him at the very last moment.”
During his interview with Sky Sports, Hussain (right) called Thorpe (left) ‘one of his best friends’ and praised him as ‘a great player;’
Old Trafford paid tribute to the former Surrey and England batsman who scored 6,744 Test runs during his distinguished career
Hussain (left) shared some ‘special memories’ of the pair as they toured England together
Hussain told Sky Sports that Thorpe would help him ‘deal with the pressures of international cricket’
Thorpe’s (right) attitude led England to victories, while Hussain (left) spoke of the fighting spirit his team-mate always showed to help his team to victory.
Thorpe will be remembered as one of the finest batsmen of his generation. During his distinguished cricket career, Thorpe would score 6,744 Test runs for England, with 16 centuries, while he scored an impressive 21,937 First Class runs for Surrey.
“If you doubted yourself as a player or as a captain, you would walk into his room and he would put everything into perspective,” Hussain continued.
“He was just a really good guy and a great player.
‘I can’t tell you how great a player he was – and not just a great average of 44, average of 45, 100 Test matches. But when we needed him when we were 30-2 – we were often with [Michael] Atherton at the top of the order – you would send him [Thorpe] when you walked out that door and he came halfway there and you could look him in the eye and you knew he was ready for a fight.
‘That’s all people who come here to Test matches want from their England cricketer. They want the talent. That should be a given – if you play for your country, you should have talent.
Thorpe was also England’s batting coach, but retired from the team in 2022
‘But they want you to get the most out of your talent, to show fighting spirit and character.
This little man [Thorpe]I called him the Little Genius because that’s what he did. Day in and day out he showed up and he showed a lot of fighting spirit and that’s why we as teammates, fans and his family and everybody who knew Graham, that’s why we loved him, because he was full of fighting spirit and character and he was full of fun.’