England and New Zealand will pay tribute to legendary batsman Graham Thorpe this winter.

The first match starts in Christchurch on November 28, while further Tests will take place in Wellington and Hamilton before Christmas.

And they will compete for a trophy named in Thorpe’s honor following his passing in the summer.

The former Surrey and England man took his own life in August aged 55.

His death left the cricketing world in shock, with tributes pouring in from across the globe.

Thorpe is remembered as one of the greats of modern England, averaging nearly 45 in a Test career that saw him win 100 caps and amass 6,744 runs, 15th in the all-time list of the three lions.

He registered 16 triple-figure red-ball knocks for his country, including a top score of 200* against New Zealand in 2002, which was at the time the third-fastest double century in Test history.

He retired from the international game in 2005 when Michael Vaughan opted to select Kevin Pietersen for the infamous Ashes series win over Australia.

But Thorpe still had plenty to offer his country, for whom he was batting coach between 2013 and 2022.

Ahead of the upcoming series, New Zealand are reported to have pushed for the two teams to compete for a new trophy.

Although it will bear Thorpe’s name, it will also pay tribute to Kiwi great Martin Crowe. The former batuta died at the age of 53, after a three-year battle with lymphoma.

Crowe, who also played for Somerset between 1984 and 1988, averaged 45.36 in a career spanning 77 Tests, scoring 17 centuries and scoring 5,444 runs.

Four of those centuries came against England, including his last, a knock of 115 in the draw at Old Trafford in 1994.

The new trophy, which is expected to be called the Crowe-Thorpe Trophy, is made in New Zealand.