The Test Batter Can’t Breathe

Available for over a year

It's a Test Match between Australia and England. Who will win the Ashes. But the commentary is interrupted by the mysterious and troubling disappearance of one of England's most talented young batters. This young cricketer has walked out of the match and no one knows where he has gone. Or, why. As the cricketer talks to a therapist his story unfolds. The Batter ..... Dan Parr The Dad ..... Ian Conningham The Ex Girlfriend ..... Melissa Vaughan The Bowler ..... Will Kirk The Therapist ..... Tracy Wiles The Test Commentator ..... Jonathan Agnew Written by James Fritz Directed by Tracey Neale Cricket has been part of this young man's life since he was six years old. Growing up in Lancashire he is talented and incredibly ambitious, always proud of the way that he handles pressure. Under the watchful eye of his dad he has risen from school to club to country and finally international level. When his first England Test cap is awarded, he takes to international cricket like a duck to water. A high flyer and settled down with a girlfriend who is studying Climate Science. On tour, although older players tell him not to, he googles his own name and constantly reads and watches everything he can about cricket and then this becomes mixed in with climate fears. Cricket involves extreme scrutiny of talent, technique and mental fortitude combined with extended periods away from the comforts of home and family. The batter who is out for nought is left for days or weeks to stew on their failure: on how it has cost their team, their career prospects, their country. Arguably there has never been a harder time to be a professional athlete. The constant scrutiny of social media means that there is no escape from the public glare for young sports men and women. But this is only reflective of the wider crisis in mental health in our society. Generations of young people are growing up unable to ask for help, trapped in cycles of anxiety and depression, feeling their own pressure to ‘perform’ in a variety of different ways. The Test Batter Can't Breathe is heart-breaking and occasionally terrifying, but hopeful and educational. An honest, unflinching portrayal of a mind under extreme stress that might make those suffering from anxiety and depression feel a little less alone. The Writer: James Fritz is a multi-award-winning writer from South London, whose plays for BBC Radio include Comment Is Free, Death of A Cosmonaut, Eight Point Nine Nine and Dear Harry Kane. His awards for audio drama include the Imison and Tinniswood BBC Audio Drama Awards. The ARIA award for Best Fictional Storytelling in 2021. He has also been nominated on multiple occasions for Best Drama at the BBC Audio Drama Awards. In this year's Audio Drama Awards he won Best Series for Life and Time. James is currently working on a television drama and is also under commission with the RSC. Producer and Director: Tracey Neale Technical Production: Alison Craig and Peter Ringrose Production Co-Ordinator: Hannah O'Reilly