Thorpey was a ray of light from heaven illuminating the stygian gloom of 90s English batting.
A fair few of the successes of Nasser's reign were in no small part due to his doughty efforts. The Series wins in Pakistan and Sri Lanka spring to mind.
I've probably moaned more than once before on his behalf about the decision to dispense with his services before the 05 Ashes, ironically for the young Ding Dong (and Pietersen too, kinda; it was a 3 players into 2 slots dealy). We'd likely have won somewhat more comfortably if the great man had still be in situ rather than the callow Bell.
Bell was always an attractive batsman to watch but, and here I steal a turn of phrase that Son of Coco used & I've always thought it apt, struck one as a batting apologist. Whereas Thorpe's countenance (the gimlet eyes, the chin perpetually sporting a shadow of beard growth, long before it was de rigueur) screamed permanence, Bell's demeanour seemed to suggest "I'm just here to score a few runs, if that's not too much trouble, and then I'll nick off, that's if no-one minds, terribly. Sorry!"
Probably totally unfair, but because he made batting look easy his dismissals often had an air of carelessness about them.