Now undisputedly England's number one batsman Graham Thorpe endured a difficult summer this year after a winter when he could do no wrong. The key man in England's victories over Pakistan and Sri Lanka, Thorpe ended the subsequent Ashes series on the physio's couch having only taken part in the Lord's Test.

Cricket365's Ben Kunicki caught up with the Surrey lefthander as he launched EA Sports game Cricket 2002 for the Sony Playstation 2. The game, which is launched in November, promises to prove itself to be the definitive cricket game of all time. 
 
1. What are your current feelings about the proposed tour of India? 
There's bound to be apprehension amongst the players at this moment. I can't think of too many players who would not sit there and think, hold on, just what is the situation. That doesn't mean that at this moment I or anybody else is going to say no we're not going on tour.

The board have made up their mind and they have to be pretty sure. But even then, how can they be 100 per cent? I'm just one player and in my own mind I haven't decided whether I definitely will go or whether I definitely won't go.
 
2. How do you answer the charge that the English players are not keen on touring India in any circumstances? 
I think that would be harsh of this particular squad because we went to Pakistan and Sri Lanka, which are hard places to tour and in the past I think people have had negative views of those places. The current squad views going to Asia as a positive challenge, to play in those atmospheres and experience those countries where cricket is followed fanatically.

3. From a cricket point of view is it something you're looking forward to? 
I haven't played a Test series in India although I did play in the World Cup in 1996, it's something which I was looking forward to taking part in. To play against India in their own backyard is comparable to playing against Australia in terms of the challenge. I think most people were looking forward to getting out there and seeing how well we would go.

4. On a personal level the tour of Zimbabwe wasn't a great success, did you get anything out of it? 
For me it was a case of just trying to play cricket again. Physically trying to get through it all. The hand injury has taken a long time to get over. Sometimes you have to take small steps to go for the bigger ones later on.

From a scoring runs perspective there wasn't a lot on the table but from a just playing cricket perspective I was happy to just get out there and get running round with the guys.
 
5. How did you think the tour went for the team overall? 
We achieved what we hoped to achieve. A five-nil win against a side which is a very capable one-day outfit, which had on paper a lot more experience than we did. The young guys who came in to the squad performed exceptionally well and staked their claim for a place.

We've got a long way to go in one-day cricket and we're not under any illusions about that. We still need to progress and get a better understanding of the one-day game, so that by the time the next World Cup comes round we can have more confidence in our cricket and be the surprise package of the tournament.
 
6. Did you feel very much the senior player with so many youngsters around? 
Well I had the most caps on that trip but I'd only played something like 65 matches which to me says everything about England's one-day cricket. Compared to someone like Grant Flower with almost 170 caps, it puts it into perspective that even myself as a senior player has not played enough one-day cricket.

7. You came up through the ranks with the likes of Nasser Hussain and Mike Atherton. Does the latter's retirement make you start thinking about the longevity of your own career? 
The game has high physical demands. I'm 32 now but the clock's ticking a little bit. You've got to keep yourself as fit as you can, but for sure I do sit there and say how long have I got left at international level? I can never answer that question, it could be a week, it could be three years, I don't know.

8. With Atherton's retirement you are now regarded as England's premier batsman, does that put any extra pressure on you? 
It's a responsibility that everybody has when they first play for England. I've never really felt a massive change since the first day that I played. I think Athers retirement makes you realise that even more. A gew other players have to continue that way that he used to have, that steeliness.

Time moves on though. When you've played cricket for a long time with someone it'll be unusual not to see him walking out there but life moves forward. Athers had a wonderful career and he's entering a new phase of his life now.
 
9. On a personal level, how much of a disappointment was the Ashes series defeat? 
You can imagine. I was entering into a series in what I consider to have been as good as form as I've been in.
I picked up the injury all of sudden and the confidence did get knocked because you've been out the middle for a few weeks. You've then had preparation of just five nets and you have to go into a game where the Australian machine is already running.

I found it particularly tough to do. I would never say that I'd ever just talk a good game for the sake of it, you have to mentally try and attune yourself to what you're trying to do. It was a big disappointment to have go into the series the way I did and then an even bigger one to pick up the second injury.

I went from the highest point in my Test career to the lowest in the course of a summer.
 
10. What's your fitness situation currently? 
Still working very hard on it. The hand injury is virtually 100 per cent, I still get little aches and pains from it but I think I'm going to get that for quite some time from it. Then it's just a case of trying to get the muscles fit and strong for possibly another long winter campaign.