Mohammed Siraj walked out to the field after the rain break on the third session of the second day during the fifth Test of the 2025 Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at the Oval Stadium in London, wearing a special handband, which was noted and hailed by fans across the globe.
While wearing headbands is common practice for some fast-bowlers around, the one Siraj wore had special significance. On Friday (August 1), England cricket legend Graham Thrope would have turned 56, and to celebrate his birth anniversary, the England Cricket Board (ECB) and England Cricket Team marked a ‘A day for Thropey’ at the Oval.
Earlier in the day, England players also wore the headband as a minute’s silence was observed before the game.
The headband has a silhouette of Thorpe and his initials. Meanwhile, the cricket legend’s wife, Amanda and daughter Emma were present at the ground and rang the ball before the start of play on Day 2.
Who Was Graham Thrope?
Thrope belongs to the elusive 100-Test club and played exactly 100 Test matches for England in his international career, which lasted 12 years. He made his debut in 1993 against Australia before his final appearance in the longest format in 2005 VS Bangladesh.
Thrope made 6744 runs at an average of 44.66 with 16 centuries and 39 half-centuries. He also played 82 ODIs in which he made 2380 runs with an average of 37.81 and 21 half-centuries.
Last year, Thrope died on 4th August after being struck by a train. Later, his family revealed that his death was a suicide
India-England Set For Tense Finish
The closely fought India-England series is heading for a tense series after the first innings of both teams ended with a narrow 23-run lead for England. The vistors made 224 while the hosts followed up with a total of 247. Karun Nair and Zak Crawley were the only half-centurions for their respective teams in the first innings. In the bowling department, Gus Atkinson took a five-wicket haul for England. Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna took four wickets each for India.