ENG vs SL: Why Were England Players Wearing Black Armbands Ahead of Manchester Test: Explained

The death of Graham Thorpe remains a stark reminder that despite being one of the finest cricketers in the country, mental health remains one aspect where even the best of athletes can be vulnerable individuals and the destigmatisation of mental health issues remains a need for the hour.

Ahead of the first Test between England and Sri Lanka at Old Trafford in Manchester, the hosts were seen wearing black armbands in honour of the former English international cricketer and assistant coach, Graham Thorpe.

Before the day’s play began, both teams along with the match officials were seen sporting the armband in honour of the former English international.

Thorpe died after being struck by a train at a railway station, an inquest into his death heard Tuesday. The 55-year-old died by suicide, his wife Amanda revealed on Monday in an interview with The Times. He suffered “traumatic injuries” during the incident at Esher railway station, southwest of London, Surrey Coroner’s Court in Woking was told.

The left-hander featured in 100 Test matches and 82 one-day internationals for England, scoring over 9,000 runs for his country, including 16 Test hundreds.

He enjoyed an impressive England career as an elegant batsman from 1993 to 2005, before spending 12 years in various coaching roles.

It was the first time the side publicly honoured Thorpe, who also was England’s assistant coach, as his death sent shockwaves throughout the world of cricket.

Before the first of a three-match series gets underway, the giant screens at Old Trafford displayed a series of videos recalling Thorpe’s career.

England stand-in skipper, Ollie Pope, who is leading the side in the absence of Ben Stokes, hailed Thorpe as ‘a great man,’ recalling some of his interactions when Thorpe was the batting coach of the side.

“It’s hurt a lot of people in that changing room. He was a great man. I probably had two or three years playing with him as a batting coach and, as a person, I really admired him,” Pope revealed a day before the Test match.

Pope added, “I always remember him saying one thing to me which was, ‘Never let the runs you’re scoring define you as a person’. When you’re young, in a bit of a rut, that was exactly what I needed to hear”.

(With Inputs from AFP)