Two women walk into a room and introduce themselves for the very first time. Debbie Beard and Amanda Thorpe have never met before, yet they share a grief that few can imagine. Debbie's husband Matt — former Liverpool Women manager — died in hospital on 20 September 2025, believed to have taken his own life, just one month after leaving his role at Burnley Women. Amanda's husband Graham, the celebrated England and Surrey batter, ended his life in 2024 after a brutal professional fall: sacked as England's batting coach in 2022 following a catastrophic Ashes series, a blow he never saw coming.

The occasion that brought them together was the launch of On Your Side, a nationwide suicide-prevention toolkit backed by the Prince of Wales and the Royal Foundation. Its aim is to make suicide awareness as embedded in sport's daily routine as fitness training or tactical preparation — present at every level, from elite academies to Sunday-league pitches. At the event, both women spoke with BBC business editor Simon Jack, who lost his own father to suicide at the age of 17. Amanda Thorpe has been unflinching in her assessment of what went wrong.

She believes that stronger institutional support from the England and Wales Cricket Board after Graham lost his position could have changed the outcome. The ECB, for its part, called his death "a profound tragedy" and acknowledged it as "a stark reminder of the challenges many face with mental health." Words, critics argue, that arrived far too late. Neither family's inquest has yet reached a final conclusion, and both Burnley and the ECB face uncomfortable questions about duty of care that are still unanswered.