LONDON: Former England and Surrey batter Graham Thorpe has died aged 55 after battling a "serious illness" since 2022, the country's cricket board announced on Monday.

Thorpe, who played 100 Tests for England between 1993 and 2005 and averaged 44.66 with 16 centuries, was hospitalised shortly after being named the head coach of Afghanistan in 2022 but the details of his medical condition are not known.

"It is with great sadness that the ECB shares the news that Graham Thorpe, MBE, has passed away," ECB said in a statement but did not give the exact cause of his death.

He is survived by his wife Amanda and four children, Henry, Amelia, Kitty and Emma.

One of England's finest batters, the left-hander was instrumental in England's back-to-back series wins in Pakistan and Sri Lanka during the 2000-01 season.

Thorpe enjoyed success at the county level as well. He was picked at the under-11 level by Surrey and played for them for 17 years, scoring close to 20,000 runs for the team.

"Graham is one of the great sons of Surrey and there is an overwhelming sadness that he will not walk through the gates of the Oval again. He is a legend of Surrey and brought great pride to the Club wearing both the Three Feathers and the Three Lions.

"He made outstanding contributions to the Club as a cricketer, and as a man, and he will be so sorely missed," said Oli Slipper, Chair at Surrey CCC.