Jimmy Anderson rang the morning’s five-minute bell. England tracksuit on and a gentle smile for the cameras: one still shrouded in mystery a month since his Lord’s hurrah, an internal monologue you’d pay good money to cup an ear to. Does he wish he was still out there, dressed in whites? How would he have gone in the morning, the ball swaying and jagging, against this Sri Lanka batting lineup? Should this have been where it ended, bowling at his home ground from his own end? Should it have ended at all?
It still feels a slight shame that this great experiment, a test of how long the human body can withstand the rigours of hurling a cricket ball, has been cut short. That he will spend the next few days with a mitt, not a fresh Dukes ball, will be a sad sight for ardent Anderson fans and some neutrals, too.
But it is not a tragedy. That word hung in the air before play as England lined up for the anthems wearing black armbands. A video tribute was played on the big screen and a minute’s applause followed. Graham Thorpe, who took his own life this month after suffering with depression and anxiety, was remembered.
Thorpe’s death at the age of 55 has thrown a shroud of darkness over the game in recent weeks. Rays of light have peaked through courtesy of tributes from teammates, opponents, friends and acquaintances captured by brief but fond encounters. There’s been the strength of his family, too, revealing the struggles Thorpe encountered in his final years while remembering a life defined not by the end but by the joy he brought before.
Thorpe put smiles on faces at Old Trafford, too. This month marks 20 years since his final Test at the ground, when 114 with a broken finger against West Indies set up another victory in England’s perfect summer, one of seven wins out of seven.
A scan of that scorecard reveals a blend of past and present. Anderson played, as did Rob Key, now running the show. Michael Vaughan, then captain, was commentating at the ground on Wednesday. Marcus Trescothick, another old batting partner, is now part of England’s backroom staff. Ian Bell, Sri Lanka’s batting coach on this tour, made his debut in the Test that followed at the Oval, replacing the injured Thorpe. They were together in the middle when the 23-year-old up‑and‑comer made his maiden Test hundred the following summer against Bangladesh.
For the current England team, he wasn’t just a storied name from the past to emulate but someone who was perched in their dressing room until a couple of years ago, passing on advice as a coach. Ian Ward, Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain, his former colleagues, were on the field in the morning as part of Sky’s coverage, remembering both the cricketer and the man. When Hussain walked off at Lord’s with a century and the winning runs against New Zealand in his final Test, Thorpe was alongside him. He was there with Hussain when they won in Karachi, when they put on 288 against Australia at Edgbaston, when they were boys turning into men at Trent Bridge in 1993. And he was there when it was difficult, too.
“He was always there for me in my darkest moments,” Hussain said. “And that’s probably what I feel the saddest about now, that I wasn’t there for him right at the end in his darkest moments. When you doubt yourself as a player or as a captain, you used to walk in his room and he used to put everything into perspective. He was just a really good guy and a great, great player.” This is a loss being felt in every corner of a small world.
In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org
