September 26 Thursday 2002
Illingworth says England must say goodbye to Thorpe

LONDON: Former captain and chairman of selectors Ray Illingworth says it is time for England to forget about picking Graham Thorpe after the Surrey batsman pulled out of the forthcoming Ashes tour to Australia." It is a great shame because he (Thorpe) is a fine player," Illingworth, 70, told newspaper on Wednesday. "But England really have to say goodbye to him now." 

Thorpe, who has failed to complete a string of tours in recent years, originally made himself available for the five-match series after taking a complete break from the game following the acrimonious break-up of his marriage. But the 33-year-old left-hander, who has scored 5,109 runs in 77 Tests at an average of 41.87, informed the England management on Monday that he would not be available for the tour, saying he did not feel in the right frame of mind. Illingworth said: "You cannot have players around who are moping and worrying about problems at home, so it's best Graham is not going if that is the case. "But I think he will regret the decision. 

He is 33 and won't get another chance. You are a long time retired and I would have thought it best for him and his family to give it a go and put his heart and soul into it." "It's barely three months away, nothing like tours in the past which took six months," said Illingworth, who captained England in 31 Tests between 1969-73 and was chairman of selectors between 1994-97. "I am surprised he has reached this stage because he was never a problem for me as chairman, we got on well. But the selectors cannot afford to be messed around like this."

Former England captain Mike Gatting, however, said it was too early to write off Thorpe's Test career. "To play at Test level against the best in the world, you have to focus 100 per cent and that means putting family life on hold, hard as that may be at times," he said. "I am convinced common sense has prevailed and I am also sure it is far too early to write off Thorpe as a Test batsman. We should have sympathy for his family predicament and treat it in much the same way as an injury, an emotional rather than physical one," said Gatting, 45, who captained England in 23 Tests and led the side to an Ashes series win in Australia in 1986-87.

"If it proves to be career-ending that would be very sad. But time can heal even the messiest situations and should things become more settled over the (English) winter and he can apply himself properly again, why wouldn't you select him?" Gatting said Thorpe would have found himself in a difficult situation if he had gone to Australia. "He would have copped flak at every turn from the Aussies and each time he failed his frame of mind would have come into question. Just imagine what would have happened every time he walked out to bat."

You can be sure one of the Aussie fielders would have crossed his path and 'politely' asked: 'How are the kids, Thorpey?' Short leg would have made a similar enquiry as he took guard and you can bet there would have been other comments. Like it or not, sledging is a part of Test cricket.