England batting great Graham Thorpe, who represented the country in 100 Test matches between 1993 and 2005, has passed away, aged 55, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed on Monday.

Thorpe, who went on to work as batting coach for the senior men’s team after retirement, was taken “seriously ill” in 2022, shortly after being named as Afghanistan’s head coach.

During his playing career, Thorpe scored 6,744 Test runs, with 16 hundreds, and also featured in 82 One-day internationals. In domestic cricket, he played for Surrey between 1988 and 2005, scoring almost 20,000 runs for the county.

“It is with great sadness that we share the news that Graham Thorpe, MBE, has passed away. There seem to be no appropriate words to describe the deep shock we feel at Graham’s death,” the ECB said in a statement.

“More than one of England’s finest-ever batters, he was a beloved member of the cricket family and revered by fans all over the world. His skill was unquestioned, and his abilities and achievements across a 13-year international career brought so much happiness to his teammates and England and Surrey CCC supporters alike. Later, as a coach, he guided the best England Men’s talent to some incredible victories across all formats of the game.”

“The cricket world is in mourning today. Our hearts go out to his wife Amanda, his children, father Geoff, and all of his family and friends during this unimaginably difficult time. We will always remember Graham for his extraordinary contributions to the sport,” the statement added.

Thorpe joined the ECB in 2010 as lead batting coach, and was part of the backroom team that oversaw England’s 2019 men’s World Cup success. He went on to work as assistant coach to Chris Silverwood, although he was among a number of the coaching staff to depart in the wake of the 2021-22 Ashes.

At 24, Thorpe scored a century on debut against Australia at Trent Bridge in 1993 and went on to become England’s frontline Test batters during the 1990s and early 2000s. He also was part of the ODI side, and featured at the 1996 and 1999 World Cups.

His final England appearance was the occasion of his 100th cap, against Bangladesh at Chester-le-Street in 2005. After that, he transitioned into coaching, initially in Australia, where he mentored players like Steve Smith and David Warner at New South Wales. He later returned to join the Surrey side as batting coach before moving to the national side’s backroom.