LONDON, July 12: Surrey left-hander Graham Thorpe is ready and eager to return to the England side after dropping out of the off-season Ashes tour for personal reasons.

“There’s a massive desire to get back and play at the top,” Thorpe said in a Sky TV interview on Saturday. “If the phone went and they said ‘will you play’, of course I would play. I’d definitely tour as well.”

Thorpe, who turns 34 next month, averages an impressive 41.87 from his 77 Tests with 11 centuries. He has been an equally valuable one-day player with an average of 37.18 from 82 matches and a strike rate over 70.

“Things are totally different in my life,” he said. “Things off the field are totally different.

“They play a major part in my decision making. I can just throw my energy and focus into my cricket again.”—Reuters