Graham Thorpe, a former batter for England, committed suicide due to mental problems, according to his wife. The 54-year-old Thorpe had participated in 100 Test matches for England before joining the coaching staff. According to his wife, he has been suffering for the past two years, with one prior attempt in 2022.

In an interview with The Times, his wife Amanda was quoted as saying, “For the past couple of years, Graham had been suffering from major depression and anxiety. This led him to make a serious attempt on his life in May 2022, which resulted in a prolonged stay in an intensive care unit.

“Despite glimpses of hope and of the old Graham, he continued to suffer from depression and anxiety, which at times got very severe. We supported him as a family and he tried many, many treatments but unfortunately, none of them really seemed to work.

“Graham was renowned as someone who was very mentally strong on the field and he was in good physical health. But mental illness is a real disease and can affect anyone. Despite having a wife and two daughters whom he loved and who loved him, he did not get better.

“He was so unwell in recent times and he really did believe that we would be better off without him and we are devastated that he acted on that and took his own life.”

It is only recently that the family has disclosed the tragic occurrence in their lives to the public. Kitty, Thorpe’s daughter, has expressed their desire to increase public awareness of these diseases.

“We are not ashamed of talking about it. There is nothing to hide and it is not a stigma. We were trying to help him get better before and trying to protect him, which is why we said nothing. This is the time now to share the news, however horrible it is. We’ve wanted to be able to talk and share and we’d now like to raise awareness, too.”