Former England batter Graham Thorpe passes away at 55
London, Aug 5: Former England and Surrey batter Graham Thorpe has died aged 55 after battling a "serious illness" since 2022, the country's cricket board announced on Monday.
Considered one of the finest batters of his generation, Thorpe was hospitalised shortly after being named the head coach of Afghanistan in 2022 but the details of his medical condition are not known.
He is survived by his wife Amanda and four children, Henry, Amelia, Kitty and Emma.
"It is with great sadness that the ECB shares the news that Graham Thorpe, MBE, has passed away," ECB said in a statement, without giving the exact cause of his death.
"There seem to be no appropriate words to describe the deep shock we feel at Graham's death. More than one of England's finest ever batters, he was a beloved member of the cricket family and revered by fans all over the world," the statement read.
Thorpe began his Test career in 1993 with an Ashes century and repeated the feat on the return tour, in Perth in February 1995.
The left-hander was also instrumental in England's back-to-back series wins in Pakistan and Sri Lanka during the 2000-01 season.
A lynch-pin of England's middle order, he went on to play 100 Tests for England between 1993 and 2005 and averaged 44.66 with 16 centuries.
He also represented the Three Lions in 82 ODIs, collecting 2830 runs at an average of 37.18.
Thorpe enjoyed success at the county level as well. He was picked at the under-11 level by Surrey and played for them for 17 years, scoring close to 20,000 runs for the team.
"Graham is one of the great sons of Surrey and there is an overwhelming sadness that he will not walk through the gates of the Oval again. He is a legend of Surrey and brought great pride to the Club wearing both the Three Feathers and the Three Lions.
"He made outstanding contributions to the Club as a cricketer, and as a man, and he will be so sorely missed," said Oli Slipper, Chair at Surrey CCC.
Following his playing career, Thorpe took to coaching.
He started his coaching career in Australia, where he worked with the likes of Steve Smith and David Warner at New South Wales. He then joined the England national team set up as a batting coach in 2010.
He served as an assistant coach for the England men's team under Trevor Bayliss and Chris Silverwood but was axed after the Test side suffered a 0-4 whitewash in the 2021–22 Ashes series Down Under.
He was then appointed the head coach of Afghanistan in March 2022 but fell ill and couldn't take up the role.
"Graham Thorpe has recently fallen seriously ill and is currently in hospital receiving treatment," The Professional Cricketers' Association said at the time.
"His prognosis is unclear at this stage and we ask for privacy for him and his family at this time. Our thoughts are with Graham and his family."
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Chamoli hydropower tunnel train collision: 88 injured, magisterial probe ordered
Gopeshwar/Dehradun (PTI): Chamoli District Magistrate Gaurav Kumar on Wednesday ordered a magisterial inquiry into the collision between two loco trains inside the Pipalkoti tunnel of the under-construction Vishnugad-Pipalkoti hydropower project, which left 88 people injured.
Earlier in the day, Kumar said that the accident occurred around 8.30 pm on Tuesday at the TBM (Tunnel Boring Machine) site inside the tunnel being built by THDC (India).
A loco train carrying workers for tunnel excavation during the night shift was about two kilometres inside the tunnel when another loco train coming from the opposite direction lost control and collided with it.
One of the trains had workers and officials on board, while the other carried material.
Upon receiving information about the collision, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami ordered proper treatment for the injured. He spoke to the DM over the phone and instructed him to ensure that all the injured receive the best possible medical facilities.
DM Kumar and Superintendent of Police Surjit Singh Panwar met the injured at the Gopeshwar District Hospital.
Kumar said 109 people were on board the loco train at the time of the accident, most of them labourers. None of the injured was serious, he said.
He said that 88 of them were injured, although none of them are in serious condition. They said that 84 workers were discharged after receiving first aid, while four are still hospitalized.
DM Kumar and SP Panwar also inspected the project site and sought detailed information about the incident from the project officials.
They instructed them to strictly implement all necessary safety standards to prevent a recurrence of such an incident in the future.
After inspection, the DM issued orders for a magisterial inquiry into the accident caused by the collision of the loco trains.
Meanwhile, the Railways said the trains involved in the collision had no connection with it.
"It is clarified that this unfortunate incident occurred in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district, involving a trolley used in the local transportation system during the construction of a hydroelectric project tunnel. The train referred to in the news reports is not an Indian Railways train, but a transportation system being used locally by the project team," the government entity said in a statement.
According to officials, rail-like vehicles are used to transport workers, employees, and materials for construction work inside the tunnel.
The project, being built between Helang and Pipalkoti on the Alaknanda River, will generate 444 megawatts of electricity through four turbines. The project is targeted for completion by next year.
