Joe Root paid a tribute to former England batter and coach Graham Thorpe while celebrating his 39th Test hundred, against India during The Oval Test match.
Chasing 374 at The Oval, England were 317-4 at tea on the fourth day with Root on 98*. Not too long afterwards, he flicked a ball from Akash Deep into the leg side to bring up his 39th Test hundred.
In customary fashion, he took his helmet off to acknowledge the cheers. Then, he took out a white headband from his pocket and put it on to pay tribute to Thorpe before gesturing towards the sky. Thorpe was known for wearing a headband during his career, with headbands on sale during The Oval Test to raise money for the mental health charity, Mind. Thorpe died by suicide in 2024.
England cricketers previously took the field in white headbands on the second day of the Test match, which coincided with Thorpe’s birthday and was subsequently named 'A Day for Thorpey', with The Oval being Thorpe's home ground. Mohammed Siraj reciprocated the gesture from the Indian camp.
In his tribute to Thorpe in the 2025 Wisden Almanack, his Surrey and England teammate Alec Stewart wrote about the relationship between Root and Thorpe, with Thorpe's time as England batting coach running alongside Root's stint as captain: “When Graham eventually started a coaching role with England, he’d often come and see me in my office at The Oval, and we’d spend a couple of hours discussing players he or I rated highly. He had been on about Joe from the moment he first saw him, and told me to look out for him as his career progressed. He realised early on that Joe was incredibly special, and had the potential to be a great.”
Root was a pallbearer at Thorpe’s funeral in Southwark, and described Thorpe as a “rock star”. About the gesture at The Oval, he said: “I wish I had it [the headband] in my pocket from the start. I put it there at tea. He is someone who impacted the game in this country as player, coach, mentor and friend ... That wasn’t just from me but our whole dressing room. It is great to see everyone show the amount of love for him throughout this week because he is a real legend of English cricket and has done so much good for so many people.”
Root eventually fell for 105. England will resume the final day, which will also mark Thorpe’s first death anniversary, on 339-6.
