The Telegraph Cricket Podcast · The Telegraph

Michael and Phil remember Graham Thorpe - plus a recap on the Hundred and looking ahead to Sri Lanka

·36 min·2 clips

Phil Tufnell says he had "a couple of wobbles" on England tours and was fined £2,000 for crying.

1. The Telegraph Cricket Podcast episode centres on Graham Thorpe, the Hundred finals, and England’s Test series against Sri Lanka. 2. Ben Wright hosts Phil Tufnell and Mike Thorne, both former England cricketers who played alongside Graham Thorpe and can speak directly about his career and character. 3. The episode asks what Thorpe meant to England cricket, what the Hundred is becoming, and how England should line up against Sri Lanka starting on Wednesday 21 August at Old Trafford. 4. Ben opens by noting Thorpe’s 100 Test caps between 1993 and 2005 and his death earlier this month at the age of 55. 5. Phil and Mike describe Thorpe as "one of the great players" and "one of the great teammates," with Phil calling him a "cheeky chappy." 6. Mike says Thorpe had "white line fever," could switch on in any innings, and then became chilled and humorous back in the dressing room. 7. The hosts discuss how Thorpe helped younger players by showing them how to switch off from cricket away from training. 8. Mike recalls an early Pakistan tour where Thorpe would scrape sand onto a lens in the nets so the ball would spin more sharply. 9. They connect that work ethic to Thorpe’s ability to stand up to Australia’s attack of Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, and Jason Gillespie in the late 1990s. 10. The conversation moves to mental health after Ben cites Thorpe’s 2002 Lord’s test breakdown and the line about giving back all his caps to be happy again. 11. Phil says Marcus Trescothick did "a great service" by speaking openly, and Mike links later England support systems to the lack of central contracts in the 1990s. 12. Phil says he spent much of his 90s tours on phone calls and "fags," and he describes being fined £2,000 after crying in his room during a difficult tour. 13. Mike says modern players are better protected, with central contracts, better hotels, family visits, and even golf as part of the attempt to make England players enjoy the game. 14. The Hundred section starts with praise for the Oval and Lord’s crowds, the women’s final atmosphere, and Zara Larson singing through the Long Room. 15. Mike argues the ECB mishandled scheduling by putting the Hundred against the Olympics and by keeping bilateral one-day series in the same calendar space. 16. He says the competition needs a prominent four-week window, bigger checks, and more public backing if it is ever to rival the IPL. 17. Ben and Mike then discuss Matthew Mott stepping down as England white-ball coach and the search for a better fit with Jos Buttler. 18. The tone shifts between tribute, reflective honesty, and blunt cricket argument, with Phil and Mike interrupting each other and Ben steering the discussion. 19. Viewers who follow England cricket, the Hundred, and player welfare would get the most from this episode. 20. Listeners wanting a purely match-by-match tactical preview may skip the longer tribute and scheduling debate.

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