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Cricket legend Graham Thorpe died from multiple injuries after being hit by a train at his local station, an inquest was announced today.
The 55-year-old man died in Surrey on Sunday 4 August and was later identified by his fingerprints.
Surrey coroner Simon Wickens said a post-mortem examination showed Thorpe died from multiple injuries.
“This was an unnatural cause of death, primarily due to traumatic injuries, when Mr Thorpe was struck by a train,” Wickens said.
No members of Mr Thorpe’s family were present during the five-minute hearing at Surrey Coroner’s Court in Woking.
At the inquest, the coroner said Thorpe was a married man, a professional cricketer and coach. He gave his date of birth as August 1, 1969, and that he lived in Esher with his wife Amanda, a teacher.
His time of death was around 8.30am on 4 August.
Graham Thorpe attempted to take his own life in 2022 as he battled ‘depression and anxiety’, his grieving wife Amanda (pictured) has revealed
Thorpe with his wife Amanda, their two daughters Kitty, now 22, and Emma, now 19, and his parents at the Wrecclesham village fair in Surrey in 2016
Graham Thorpe’s family praised for speaking out about mental health after his death
British Transport Police conducted a fingerprint comparison on a sample taken from the home and identified the body.
The post-mortem examination took place on 9 August at St Peter’s Hospital, Chertsey.
The Corner said Mr Thorpe’s body had been returned to his family and a full inquest would take place at a later date when evidence had been gathered.
He closed the hearing by offering his condolences to his family and all those who had been affected by his cricket career.
Thorpe’s wife, Amanda, said in an interview that her husband had been suffering from depression and anxiety for the past few years.
He had previously attempted suicide in 2022 and spent time in hospital recovering from his injuries.
“Despite having a wife and two daughters whom he loved and who loved him, he did not improve,” he said.
‘He’s been very unwell recently and he truly believed we would be better off without him and we are devastated by his actions and taking his own life.
The former England batsman took his own life on August 4 after battling depression.
Surrey coroner Simon Wickens said a post mortem showed Thorpe died from multiple injuries. Pictured: Graham in 2021
The Surrey left-handed batsman was a talisman for England and a hero to many who grew up watching cricket in the 1990s (pictured in March 2002 after hitting a double century in a Test match against New Zealand).
‘Over the past few years, Graham had suffered from severe depression and anxiety. This led him to attempt suicide in May 2022, forcing him to remain hospitalized for a long time in an intensive care unit.
‘Despite the glimmers of hope and old Graham, he continued to suffer from depression and anxiety, which at times became very severe. We supported him as a family and he tried many, many treatments, but sadly none of them seemed to really work.’
Thorpe will be remembered as one of the finest batsmen of his generation. He scored 2,380 runs in 82 one-day internationals and 6,744 runs in 100 Test matches, at an average of 44.66 and 16 hundreds.
After retiring in 2005, he turned to coaching, first in Australia and then back home, with Surrey and England.
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