English cricket paid tribute to Graham Thorpe, as the Test series against Sri Lanka got underway at Old Trafford on Wednesday morning.
Former England batter Thorpe, who played 100 Tests for his country, took his own life at the age of 55 earlier this month after suffering from depression and anxiety.
This week’s series opener here at Old Trafford is England’s first international since his death, and players from both teams led a moment’s applause ahead of the national anthems.
Sri Lanka skipper Dhananjaya de Silva won the toss and elected to bat but quickly found his side in major trouble, reduced to six for three inside seven overs.
Dimuth Karunaratne was first to go, top-edging Atkinson behind on two, before opening partner Nishan Madushka and Angelo Mathews both fell to Woakes in the following over.
England’s players are wearing black armbands throughout the First Test in memory of Thorpe, with a number of them having worked personally with the former Surrey man during his dozen years in various coaching roles within the national set-up.
“It’s hurt a lot of people in that changing room,” said Ollie Pope, who is standing in for the injured Ben Stokes as captain during the three-match series. “He was a great man. I probably had two or three years playing with him as a batting coach. As a person, I really admired him.
“I remember him saying one thing to me, which was, ‘Never let the runs you’re scoring define you as a person’. In a bit of a rut when you’re young, that was exactly what I needed to hear. It shows for me what a people’s person he was. He was loved in the changing room. He’s such a sad loss to everyone, to the country, his family and the boys as well. He’s missed and we’ll honour him this week.”
England announced their team on Monday, with Dan Lawrence opening in place of the injured Zak Crawley, while Durham seamer Matthew Potts is also back for the first time in more than a year.
