By John Etheridge, Cricket correspondent

GRAHAM THORPE, who has died aged 55, was England’s best batsman between the end of David Gower’s career and the start of Kevin Pietersen’s.

Indeed, many reckon he was at least as good as either Gower or Pietersen.

Thorpe was a nuggety left-hander who could attack or defend, display a carefree approach or iron-willed patience.

He was good against fast bowling and an absolute master facing spin.

Thorpe was one of the first names on any England team sheet for more than a decade in the 1990s and 2000s.

Thorpe later became a well-regarded coach in both England and Australia and is the man credited as the first to spot the potential of Joe Root.

He had a huge influence on Ben Stokes’ batting, especially against spin.

His innings of 113 not out against Sri Lanka in Colombo in 2001 was one of the finest ever played for England.

It is rarely mentioned alongside the barnstorming efforts of Stokes or Ian Botham but, make no mistake, it was an all-time heroic performance in extreme heat against top-class spin.

Thorpe scored 32 not out in the second innings (out of 74-6) as England won by four wickets.

He was so shattered that he missed the team party that evening.

Thorpe was born in Farnham, Surrey, and the story goes that he switched to left-handed because the legside boundary in his back garden was shorter that side.

He was good enough at football to play for England age-group teams but opted for cricket.

He played for Surrey, England A and, in 1993, scored an Ashes century on his Test debut against Australia at Trent Bridge.

He made another brilliant century – 138 – against the Aussies at Edgbaston in 1997.

He and Nasser Hussain put on 288 for the fourth wicket and England won by nine wickets.

It was an almost unique match of England domination in an era of ritual hammerings by the old enemy.

Thorpe’s highest Test score was a blazing 200 not out from just 231 balls against New Zealand in Christchurch in 2002.

It was eclipsed by Nathan Astle’s brutal 222 from 168 deliveries in the same match but England still won comfortably.

In another famous win, Thorpe scored 64 not out as England beat Pakistan in Karachi in 2000 by six wickets.

It was virtually dark at the end and there were no floodlights.

Thorpe’s final Test innings was 66 not out against Bangladesh in 2005 but England decided to drop him to accommodate the recently-qualified Pietersen.

So Thorpe took no part in the greatest Test series of all time against Australia that summer.

He scored 16 centuries in exactly 100 Tests with an average of 44.66.

Thorpe moved into coaching, working in Australia for New South Wales, where his charges included youngsters called David Warner and Steve Smith.

He was England’s lead batting coach for several years and an assistant-coach on the Ashes tour of 2021-22.

Away from the pitch, Thorpe’s first marriage broke down very publicly and he missed some cricket as a result. He had two children.

Thorpe could be maudlin and would sometimes spend hours telling people about his problems.

He found love again and married Amanda and she became a regular when he toured as part of England’s coaching team.

He was his own man – he was fined £1,000 for refusing to attend an official function during the 1999 World Cup, for example – but I liked him a lot.

He was open, honest and with a self-deprecating humour.

After England’s defeat in the Fifth Test in Hobart, Thorpe lit a cigar while drinking indoors with players from both teams.

The police were called and he filmed their arrival on his ‘phone, providing a commentary. Within hours, the footage went public.

Thorpe lost his job after England’s 0-4 defeat in that series but, within weeks, he was hired to become head coach of Afghanistan.

He never took up that position, however, and in May of 2022, the PCA put out a statement revealing that Thorpe was “seriously ill” in hospital.

He was not seen again in cricket circles after that although some of his former team-mates tried to keep in touch.

The cricket world will be deeply shocked and saddened by his passing.