Thorpe is England's Golden Nugget

But the quick-scoring of players such as Marcus Trescothick, Andrew Strauss, Vaughan and Andrew Flintoff during four consecutive series victories over West Indies (home and away), New Zealand and South Africa tends to make Thorpe look like a nudger and nurdler.

While it is true, though, that a Thorpe innings seldom excites in terms of power or rapier-like strokeplay, team-mates and selectors are quick to recall vital contributions like those centuries at Trent Bridge and Old Trafford last summer that turned tight games into wins against the Kiwis and West Indians.

As coach Duncan Fletcher said only this week: "Graham has shown before he is a tough, nuggety type of player who has got us out of trouble on numerous occasions.

"Experience is very important when you are put in the situations we will probably face against Australia." Test success was not inevitable. He had been on four A tours, with mixed results, before the selectors called on him for the Third Test of the 1993 Ashes series.

Mind you, England were already 2-0 down and the then 23-year-old wasn't their only debut-maker at Trent Bridge with Mark Ilott, Mark Lathwell and Martin McCague also on duty for the first time.

Ilott, Lathwell and McCague went on to play just seven more Tests between them. Yet it was Thorpe who had to win over the country in Nottingham with a majority of cricket fans favouring another, more dashing left-hander for the middle order.

Few mentioned the name of David Gower, though, when Thorpe scored a century at Trent Bridge.

"The Surrey left-hander had batted with a poker-faced stoicism," was how Wisden saw it - and he's been doing much the same since.

Having watched all 99 of Thorpe's Test appearances, I cannot believe he has ever fought harder than when making an undefeated 113 against Sri Lanka in the stifling, almost ovenlike heat of Colombo four years ago.

He described conditions as the most draining he had played in, yet dominated England's first innings - on a turning pitch, and against Muttiah Muralitharan - to such an extent that the next highest score was Vaughan's 26.

Then, when just 74 runs were needed for victory and a remarkable come-from-behind series win, Thorpe had to supply a valiant, undefeated 32 as six wickets fell around him.

The storm that followed the irretrievable breakdown of Thorpe's marriage was just around the corner and, when he took a break from all cricket in 2002, it looked as though his England career might be over.

Instead, Thorpe was brought back into the fold over a year later, scored a fluent century against South Africa at The Oval and embarked on what has turned into a golden last chapter.

"My second chance has enabled me to end my international career in a vastly better way than I could have dreamed of and I'm grateful for every second of it," wrote Thorpe in his Mail on Sunday column.

"Two years ago I was out of the England side with no real prospect of returning and not much else to look forward to.

"Since then I have had the opportunity to be part of the best side I have played in and to watch while the talent around me has blossomed."

England hope that talent will continue to blossom. But they will need to find another Nugget for when the going gets really tough.