Thorpe rejoins Surrey as a coach

Graham Thorpe spent 17 years as a Surrey player

Former England batsman Graham Thorpe has rejoined Surrey, three years after ending his playing career at the club.

Thorpe, 39, has been appointed as a specialist batting coach and will work with the first and second team squads.

He told BBC London 94.9: "The first time I came here I was a 10-year-old, so to return at the ripe old age of 39 is wonderful.

"To come back and contribute towards helping Surrey again, I'm looking forward to getting stuck into it."

Thorpe spent 17 years at the Brit Oval as a player between 1988 and 2005 and made 189 first class appearances for the club.

At international level he played more than 100 Test Matches for England and his average of 44.66 saw him become the tenth highest run scorer in English cricket history.

Having left Surrey three years ago, Thorpe spent time working with New South Wales in Australia and said he now feels he is well equipped to work with the next generation of stars at The Oval.

"There are all the experiences which I had as a player, dealing with media, the in's and out's of the game and overall I'm now a rounded person in terms of being able to help players come through."

Thorpe, who has has joined Surrey less than two months after they were relegated from Division One of the County Championship, was appointed an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours list in 2006.