England cricketers sporting black armbands in Ollie Pope's Test captaincy debut following Ben Stokes' hamstring injury

England kicked off their home Test season with a three-match series against Sri Lanka. Ollie Pope has taken charge as the captain for the first Test at Old Trafford, following all-rounder Ben Stokes' absence due to a hamstring injury he picked up while playing in The Hundred last week. Sri Lanka skipper Dhananjaya de Silva won the toss, and his team had a rocky start while batting first, losing three wickets within the initial seven overs.

Prior to the start of play, both sides lined up on the outfield for a tribute to the late Graham Thorpe, who died on August 4, aged 55. England are also wearing black armbands in honour of Thorpe, who had played 100 Tests and 82 ODIs for England between 1993 and 2005 and was the side's batting coach between 2019 and 2022.

An incident that sent shockwaves throughout the cricket world

Thorpe's last role in the sport was a short stint as head coach of Afghanistan. He was appointed into the role in March 2022 but he could never start out on it as he was hospitalised shortly thereafter. The Afghanistan board announced four months later that it was looking for a new coach.

Thorpe was a well-respected figure in the English cricketing circuit. He scored 6,744 runs in Test cricket, which included 16 centuries, at an average of 44.66. The stylish left-handed batter also smashed 2380 runs laced with 21 fifties at an average of 37.18.

The 55-year-old had died on the morning of August 4 after being hit by a train. His wife Amanda later said that he had taken his own life in a development that sent shockwaves through the cricket world. The tragic incident happened at the Esher railway station, southwest of London, Surrey Coroner's Court in Woking was told. The area coroner for Surrey, Simon Wickens, recorded Thorpe's cause of death as one of multiple injuries during the short hearing.

Thorpe had been hospitalised in May 2022 on account of being "seriously ill". Amanda Thorpe told The Times that the former Surrey batsman attempted suicide two years ago before taking his own life.

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