Seasoned England batter Joe Root on Sunday scored his 39th Test century and then paid a tribute to former England batter Graham Thorpe, who died by suicide on August 4, 2024. Root paid tribute to Thorpe and whose birth anniversary was two days ago, by sporting a bandana in his style on the fourth day of the fifth Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at The Oval here.
Root, who anchored the England second innings and raised a crucial partnership with Harry Brook (111 as they shared a 195-run partnership for the fourth wicket, reached his 39th century with a double in the 60th over, bowled by Akash Deep.
He reached his hundred off 137 balls, hitting 12 fours. But what caught the eye and received appreciation from England fans is what he did after the hundred, paying tribute to a former teammate and coach.
He kissed the badge on his helmet and raised his bat to acknowledge the applause from the crowd. After that, he also picked up the 'Graham Thorpe headband', wore it, and pointed up to the sky. Thorpe was England's premier batsman in both red-ball and white-ball cricket in the mid-90s till 2005 when he announced his retirement.
He was the batting coach of the England Test team after retirement till he was dismissed along with other support staff following England's 0-4 defeat in the Ashes series of 2021-22. Thorpe, 55, committed suicide by stepping in front of a train, and his family publicly revealed the cause of death as mental health struggles, to raise awareness.
By paying tribute to Thorpe after completing his century, Root has turned the focus on mental issues that are slowly growing into a major problem in cricket because of the frantic lifestyle of the modern-day players, because of various formats of the game.