By Pat Murphy BBC cricket reporter

I can vouch for the depth of the personal problems that have dogged Graham Thorpe, forcing him to take a break from all cricket.

Graham and I signed a contract to publish his autobiography 18 months ago with a view to it hitting the shops this summer.

Fletcher calls for schedule shake-up

But over the past year, his marriage breakdown and fear of dislocation from his children have distracted him mentally.

The book is now on hold, it will appear at some stage when Graham's life is on a more even keel and the publishers are commendably supportive.

He decided after England had won the first Test match against India at Lord's on Monday that he would take a break from all cricket with immediate effect.

He said he was feeling "worn-down and burnt out" by events off-the-field but vowed retirement was not on his mind - at this stage.

Thorpe will continue to play Test cricket

It would help if Graham's estranged wife and her current boyfriend refrained from periodic contributions to the tabloids for sums of money, but sadly Graham cannot control that.

All he wants is to keep his dignity and access to his beloved children.

As long ago as the tour to Sri Lanka in March 2001, Graham was pondering how much one-day cricket he should still be playing for England.

He had a strong sense of guilt about being away for long periods from his family, aware that he was being well paid but not feeling fulfilled on a personal level.

He forecast to me then that more and more England cricketers would come under pressure in their relationships and that some sanity would be needed in planning their participation in tours.

Those words have become very prophetic, with Darren Gough the latest casualty in the marital stakes.

Not every England player has been able to plan his life as capably as Mike Atherton - now a father for the first time and media pundit, a year after his retirement from cricket.

Life has been tough for Thorpe at times

For the majority, it's a compromise that sadly comes unstuck at times.

Certainly the life of an England cricketer on a central contract is less complicated if you are unencumbered by a serious relationship or family ties.

The problems of burn-out and strained relationships won't go away.

Nasser Hussain is right to underline the need to curtail the international calendar, calling on his fellow Test captains for support but India's Sourav Ganguly can't be faulted when he says that one-dayers in particular pay the bills.

No rational Board of Control is going to restrict such money-spinners to ensure that things are more hunky-dory domestically for the best players.

Look at next summer in England. As well as the Nat West triangular series in midsummer, there will be an extra three one-dayers in May - just to satisfy TV's craving for such delights and the need to get more money to the ECB.

The England coach Duncan Fletcher is sympathetic to the burn-out issue among his players, citing central contracts as the way forward.

But Fletcher also wants England to play abroad during an English season, thereby ensuring proper rest during our winter. I can't see that one working.

The counties would be hopping mad at such a proposal because they already see very little of their England stars.

Contract doubts

And with more and more counties beginning to doubt the wisdom of the central contract issue, don't bank on it being a continual integral part of the national side's development.

A substantial number of influential cricket administrators need to be convinced around the shires.

In any case, Fletcher's cry for greater experience of international one-dayers is valid only up to a point.

The two Indian players who won that fantastic match at Lord's last Saturday aggregated just 41 years between them.

You can play all the matches you want, around the world, at any time of the year, in the expectation that you will improve - but there is no legislating for the impact of immense natural talent. And Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif have it in abundance.

Graham Thorpe's autobiography, with the assistance of Patrick Murphy, will be published by Little, Brown - at some stage.