From his early days in Surrey to his radiant international career, Graham Thorpe’s journey through cricket is filled with achievements and milestones. His contributions to the sport, both on and off the field, have left an indelible mark on the cricketing world. Graham Thrope is Known for his impeccable technique and flexibility on the field. Thorpe was also a promising footballer: he represented England Schools at under-18 level as a midfielder and had a trial at Brentford. But did not complete his A-Levels and was unsure what he would do for a career until offered a two-year contract by Surrey.
His career is a testament to the prowess and dedication required to excel at the highest levels of the game. The 18-year-old left-handed middle-order batsman, made his first-class debut for Surrey in 1988, against Leicestershire Batting at number eight he made scores of 15 and 16 and claimed two wickets, his first wicket being that of David Gower lbw. Thrope then became a regular in their side in the following season. Thorpe had his most productive season of his career in 1992, gathering 1,895 runs at an average of 51.21.
A stalwart of the side for over a decade, the most complete England batsman since the Gooch-Gower era, Graham Thorpe began his Test career in 1993 with an Ashes century - the first England player in 20 years to score a hundred on debut - and repeated the accomplishment on the return tour, in Perth in February 1995.
Usually operating as either number four or five batsman, the left-hander’s last century came against South Africa in Durban, in 2004. Graham Thrope played some of his best cricket as England won a subcontinent series against Pakistan and Sri Lanka in 2000–01 and he earned a reputation as the team's best player of spin.
According to Alec Stewart, Thorpe adapted his batting method during the Pakistan tour from being a stroke-maker to being a 'nudger and nurdler'. Mike Atherton rated Thorpe's Colombo century in testing conditions as "one of the finest I ever saw from an England player" despite a lack of fluent strokeplay. He described his technique as akin to French cricket where he played the ball late, with a low backlift and was able to use his wrists to place his shots past the fielders. Writing in 2011, David Gower ranked Thorpe as the second best English batsman from those he had either played with or commentated on. He picked out his versality and ability to play Muralitharan.
Thorpe was a batsman capable of adapting to attack or defense depending on the match situation. He was considered a counter-attacking batsman in the early stages of his international career before evolving into a more 'pragmatic player of percentages'. In the later years, Thorpe was not considered a powerful batsman but instead relied on crisp stroke-play and skillful placement of shots.
In early 2002, Thorpe scored the third fastest double century in Test history as he made his highest Test score of 200 not out against New Zealand. The innings
