Cricket clubs urged to talk about mental health after Graham Thorpe's death

Cricket teams across the country are being urged to make time this weekend to talk about the life of Graham Thorpe.

The England and Surrey legend died by suicide on the 4th August after a long battle with mental illness.

As two days of cricket get underway at clubs of all levels, a mental health organisation is encouraging them to start a conversation about him to let players and fans know they're not alone if they're struggling too.

Opening Up about mental health

Mark Boyns founded Opening Up Cricket following the death of a team-mate who took his own life in Sefton in 2012.

He now travels across the UK speaking at cricket clubs, and using the sport as a way of opening up the conversation about mental health.

Speaking on the Mental Health Monday Podcast, Mark said: "Some players maybe don't want to get into a conversation because they're worried they don't know how to fix it.

"When someone has a physical injury we don't expect you to treat them, we might get them off the field to make sure they're safe and get them to someone who knows what they're doing.

"We try and draw that parallel with the mental side of it."

Talking about suicide openly

Mark, who has delivered hundreds of sessions to players and coaching staff, says he was incredibly moved by the Thorpe family's decision to talk openly about Graham's struggles before his death, revealing he'd been battling depression and anxiety and had been hospitalised in 2022.

He said: "There's a quote from the family saying they're glad they can remember him for what he was before the illness took over and thinking about him as a whole person, rather than just the way he died.

"And that really touched me, to think about all the people I've spoken to over the years who've lost someone to suicide, it's so easy just to characterise that person by thinking about how they died, rather than all those lovely memories before that.

Mark says he's also been moved by how the cricket world has responded: "There was an article 'Graham Thorpe will never know how much he was loved by people'.

"I've been there, I've been at a funeral where all these lovely things are being said and no one ever mentioned that to him, so it's a reminder about what people do when they are with us, whether they're struggling or not, however we say it, in our own words, to let them know we care."

He firmly believes cricket is a force for good in communities up and down the country: "Saturday or Sunday, we spend most of our day there, and there's training during the week and social events.

"Something is going right in clubs across the country and that can be celebrated, it is good for people's mental health."

Listen to the full conversation on the Mental Health Monday Podcast which includes signposting services to mental health services where you live.

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