LET'S LISTEN AND LEARN

Thorpe tragedy should signal change

- JEREMY CROSS

IN SOME respects events at The Oval were about much more than just cricket.

What mattered most was how the power of sport embraced an issue that affects millions of people.

But it is still not spoken about as often as it should be.

Before the start of the second day’s play in the final Test, England paid an emotional tribute to their former batter Graham Thorpe.

Thorpe died at the age of just 55.

The coroner ruled his death as a suicide.

He had spiralled into depression, having lost his job as an England coach in 2022.

He had tried to take his own life on a previous occasion.

Friday would have been his birthday.