Former England cricketer Graham Thorpe ‘spiralled into depression’ after losing job as batting coach, inquest hears

The 55-year-old died on the morning of August 4 of last year after being hit by a train at a railway station in Surrey, with his widow Amanda Thorpe later saying he had taken his own life.

An inquest at Surrey Coroner’s Court in Woking heard Thorpe was diagnosed with anxiety and depression in 2018 and previously tried to take his own life in 2022.

Mrs Thorpe said that up until 2020 there were no psychological issues in particular, apart from “a bout of depression” in 2018 which did not affect his job.

In a statement to the court, she said her husband “found lockdown and Covid very difficult, very stressful”.

An incident involving a leaked video in Australia in 2022 had left him distraught, the court was told.

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According to reports at the time, the video, filmed after a dismal Ashes series which England lost 4-0, showed Tasmanian police breaking up a drinking session involving both England and Australia players.

Mrs Thorpe described it as a “horrible” time, and said the later termination of his employment with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) was a “real shock to Graham”, which was the “start of the decline of his mental health”.

In a statement, Graham Thorpe’s father, Geoff, said the video incident had “caused catastrophic damage to him” and “ultimately he lost his job”, then quickly “spiralled into depression”.

Coroner Jonathan Stevens read a statement from Thorpe’s GP, Dr Joan Munnelly, who said an attempt to take his own life in 2022 resulted in a brain injury and Thorpe was put in intensive care. He also spent time in a private hospital after he was discharged.

The last contact between Thorpe and those responsible for his psychiatric care was in June last year, and his widower felt that he should have been “assessed properly”, the court heard.

Professor Nick Pierce, the ECB’s chief medical officer, said in a statement that after Thorpe’s employment ended in February 2022 his private health insurance cover was extended until the May.

In May, the ECB was advised that Thorpe had attempted to take his own life, and he explained that “at no point during Graham’s time at ECB had there been any concern regarding a risk of self harm or intent to end life”.

Thorpe was a prominent batter for England between 1993 and 2005 before spending 12 years in coaching roles.

He struck 16 Test hundreds for England, including a debut century against Australia at Trent Bridge in 1993, and represented his country 182 times in all formats.

The inquest continues.

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