Graham Thorpe

Graham Thorpe announced his retirement from international cricket on July 22 2005 after 100 Tests for England since making his debut against Australia in 1993.

He was arguably the best England batsman of his generation after becoming the rock in England's middle order, capable of hitting the boundaries but also knowing the value of ones and twos in order to keep the scoreboard ticking over.

He has been "Mr Reliable" for Surrey since his debut in 1988 and only two years later he was selected to go on an England A tour to Zimbabwe and Kenya. The following three winters were spent touring with the A team, as he took on the likes of Pakistan, West Indies and Australia.

It proved an excellent way of gathering the experience necessary for the step up to Test level, which came in 1993, and Thorpe made an instant impression by scoring an unbeaten century on his debut against Australia at Trent Bridge. His average since then has hovered around the 40 mark - a sure sign of quality at Test level.

Thorpe risked his international career by pulling out of England's tour to South Africa in 1999/2000 to spend time with his children after touring for 10 successive winters. But England needed his consistency and he was recalled the following summer.

He announced his retirement from the one-day game in 2002 before pulling out of the England Ashes squad and just a few months later he announced he would be taking a break from all forms of cricket to spend more time with his family.

It seemed Thorpe's international career was over, but at the start of the English season in 2003 Thorpe revealed he was once again ready for a return to the international fold.

He was recalled for the final Test against South Africa at The Oval when Nasser Hussain was sidelined with a broken toe and he compiled an elegant 124 to cement his place in Duncan Fletcher's squad and leave few with any doubt that he is one of the most competent players of his generation.

He then toured Bangladesh and Sri Lanka at the end of 2003 and toured the Caribbean for the third time as England secured a long-awaited Test series victory against West Indies.

Thorpe made an important contribution with an unbeaten century in the third Test at Bridgetown, and the fine form continued in the summer of 2004 as another unbeaten ton guided England home in the third Test against New Zealand which secured a 3-0 series whitewash.

Thorpe joins an elite club after winning his 100th Test cap © Getty Images

He also played a key role in the 4-0 series win against West Indies on home soil later in the summer and won the man-of-the-match award for his century in the third Test at Old Trafford, although he was forced to miss the final Test after fracturing the little finger on his right hand when he was struck by a Fidel Edwards bouncer.

The runs continued to flow in South Africa when Thorpe's unbeaten 118 - his fifth hundred since returning to international cricket and his fourth of the year - helped England fight back in the second Test in Durban.

The tourists overturned a 193-run deficit from the first innings and almost secured their ninth straight win but bad light stopped play on the final day with England needing two more wickets.

Thorpe's efforts ensured he finished 2004 top of England's batting averages with 951 runs from 20 innings at an average of 73.15.

He also highlighted his ability in the field in that match by snapping up Nicky Boje at short leg to become only the fifth England fielder to take 100 catches in Test cricket.

Thorpe became only the eighth England player to play 100 Test matches for his country - reaching the milestone against Bangladesh at Durham in June 2005.

However, the form of Kevin Pietersen in the following one-day internationals left the selectors with a tough decision ahead of the Ashes due to Thorpe's announcement that he was not available to tour the following winter and was to play State cricket in Australia.

When they opted for the younger of the two, Thorpe decided to quit international cricket and concentrate on playing for Surrey, but retired from all cricket at the end of the 2005 season.

He moved to Sydney in 2005-06 to work with New South Wales as a batting coach and became their assistant coach in 2007-08.

He was appointed Surrey's batting coach at the end of a disappointing 2008 season for the club and ECB national lead batting coach in October 2010.