The wife of Graham Thorpe has stated that the England cricket legend took his own life.
It was announced that England and Surrey batter Thorpe had passed away at the age of 55 on August 5.
Tributes poured in from Thorpe's former England and Surrey team-mates, including Michael Atherton, Alec Stewart and Nasser Hussain, while captain Ben Stokes - who worked with Thorpe when he was England batting coach - led tributes from current players.
In May 2022, the Professional Cricketers' Association released a statement confirming that Thorpe was seriously ill, with an 'unclear' prognosis. No further information was released at the time about his condition.
Now, his wife Amanda has revealed that Thorpe made 'a serious attempt on his life' that month, which resulted in a 'prolonged stay' in an intensive care unit.
She then confirmed that the 55-year-old took his own life.
She told The Times: "For the past couple of years, Graham had been suffering from major depression and anxiety.
"This led him to make a serious attempt on his life in May 2022, which resulted in a prolonged stay in an intensive care unit.
"Despite glimpses of hope and of the old Graham, he continued to suffer from depression and anxiety, which at times got very severe.
"We supported him as a family and he tried many, many treatments but unfortunately none of them really seemed to work.
"Graham was renowned as someone who was very mentally strong on the field and he was in good physical health. But mental illness is a real disease and can affect anyone. Despite having a wife and two daughters whom he loved and who loved him, he did not get better.
"He was so unwell in recent times and he really did believe that we would be better off without him and we are devastated that he acted on that and took his own life."
In an era where success in English Test cricket was not particularly forthcoming in the 1990s and early 2000s, Thorpe was a shining light.
He averaged over 44 in Test cricket, scoring 16 centuries and producing several match-defining innings.
Thorpe scored a century on his international debut in 1993, batting for 355 minutes to help England salvage a draw in a 1993 Ashes Test match against Australia.
He hit 64 not out against Pakistan in 2000 as England produced an iconic victory in Karachi with the light rapidly fading.
Thorpe's Test career ended on exactly 100 caps, with his final match against Bangladesh in June 2005.
He was not selected for England's iconic 2005 Ashes win over Australia, with Ian Bell picked instead - but played a significant role in the rebuild of English cricket beforehand.
At county level, Thorpe played his entire career for Surrey, and after retirement he joined them as a batting coach in 2008.
He then took over as England batting coach, and took interim charge of the fourth Test of the 2021/22 Ashes series - the only Test in which England avoided defeat - in the absence of Chris Silverwood.
Thorpe was announced as the new head coach of Afghanistan in March 2022, but did not take up the post.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in the articles and would like to speak to someone in confidence, there are several helplines available to support you. The Samaritans offer an anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123, or you can email them directly.
The Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) also operate a phoneline from 5pm to midnight every day on 0800 58 58 58, while they also have a webchat service if you would prefer not to talk over the phone.
Ryan Smart