BBC Essex radio reporter Ben Fryer is seldom short of words but there was a definite cough, wheeze and splutter in his delivery after he spent Tuesday morning on a squash court with England Junior U-15 champion Alice Green.
Plucky Ben has decided to try out 10 different sports as part of a ‘Beat Ben’ series of programmes to be aired on BBC Essex and featured on their Facebook account. His first outing was a spot of 10-pin bowling which tested his accuracy and technique then sport number two was squash.
Ben had read about Alice, who lives in Billericay and plays at Club Kingswood. The 13-year-old won her second national title in Birmingham last month and the broadcaster fancied his chances of taking a point or two in a head-to-head match up at the Colchester Garrison.
‘Learner’ Ben takes on English champion Alice at the Colchester Garrison
You can see what happened on the BBC Essex Facebook page. We won’t spoil it by telling you the score, but it’s safe to say Ben is a better reporter than a squash player.
Ben’s version of events and his interview with Alice was broadcast today (Friday( on the hugely popular James Whale show. As well as recounting his Titantic (NOT) match, Ben asked squash fans to ‘view’ the video clip in the hope that squash can beat the 4,000 views clocked up by the 10-pin bowling article.
To see the video, click on the BBC Radio Essex account on Facebook account and hit the re-Tweet and Like buttons. We need everyone’s support. We can’t let all Ben’s efforts go to waste. He’d tell you the same, if only he could get his breath back.
Alice had plenty of support for her match against Ben