ENG vs NZ: Wearing This Shirt On Behalf Of Me And England Team To Show Support To Him – Ben Stokes On Donning Graham Thorpe's Jersey No.564

Updated - 03 Jun 2022, 02:06 PM

Ben Stokes (Image: Twitter)

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Newly appointed England National Cricket Team Test captain Ben Stokes started off his full-time captaincy tenure with the battle against New Zealand National Cricket Team on June 2 at the Lord’s Cricket Ground, London.

Interestingly, Stokes walked out for the toss in his first match as full-time Test captain while donning Graham Thorpe’s name and jersey No.564.

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Notably, England great Graham Thorpe, who represented his country in 100 Test games and 82 One Day International (ODI) games, was last month reported as “seriously ill” and since then he has been getting treatment at the hospital.

Meanwhile, Stokes said that he had spoken to Thorpe’s wife on Monday and she is thankful for the respect and privacy their family received.

“Everybody is aware that he’s [Thorpe] very unwell in hospital at the moment,” said Stokes before the start of the opening day of the Lord’s Test against New Zealand.

Our captain has a message as he walks out for his first toss.

We are all with you, Thorpey ❤️#ENGvNZ pic.twitter.com/frhlvtmU2q

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 2, 2022

“I have spoken with his wife on Monday and she has been very grateful and thankful for the respect and privacy their family has received.”

He means a hell of a lot to us – Ben Stokes on Graham Thorpe

Stokes further said that he was donning the jersey to show love and support from the entire England National Cricket Team to Thorpe, his wife, his kids, and all his family and friends. He also said that the England great means a lot to them.

“Me wearing this shirt is on behalf of me and the England cricket team to show support to him, his wife, his kids, and all his family and friends through this tough time because we all love Thorpey, and he means a hell of a lot to us,” England captain said.

Speaking of the match, England lost the toss and they were invited to bowl first. The England pacers James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Matthew Potts did a fantastic job and they were able to pick back-to-back wickets early on in the innings. At Lunch, New Zealand were at 39/6.