A new play on the tragic decline of former England, Durham and Northamptonshire batsman Colin Milburn will visit Emirates Riverside on 11 November 2016.
‘When the Eye Has Gone’ is a one man show being toured around all 18 counties that has been written by James Graham-Brown, the former Kent and Derbyshire all-rounder turned playwright.
The play is set in the North Briton pub in Newton Aycliffe in County Durham on February 28 1990, the last day of Milburn’s life during his cabaret performance as ‘Jolly Ollie’, the character he had developed to conceal his insecurities and suffering.
Milburn, whose brilliant career was cut short by the loss of the sight in his left eye in a car accident in May 1969, died in the North Briton car park aged 48 after he drifted into chronic alcoholism.
He was born in Burnopfield and played Minor Counties cricket for Durham but rose to prominence after scoring a century against a touring Indian side in 1959, opening the batting with current club chairman Clive Leach.
And despite moving on to make a name for himself at county level with Northants, Milburn is widely recognised as one of the region’s most talented cricketers and has a lounge named after him at Emirates Riverside.
All county clubs have agreed to support the PCA in putting on the play around the country to help current players appreciate the importance of planning for life after cricket.
“Health and wellbeing is a very broad area and we endeavour to cover as many areas as possible,” said Jason Ratcliffe, PCA Assistant Chief Executive.
“This new, exciting initiative focuses on what can happen when a playing career suddenly ends and a player struggles with a difficult transition.
“Recent research from our Personal Development and Welfare Programme (PDWP) shows that working at something during a career can enhance performance but also help with a smooth transition, whenever it comes.
“Ollie’s story puts this into sharp focus and will hopefully enforce our PDWP and the associated messaging to be proactive with your career on and off the pitch. We’re very thankful to James for creating the unique play and look forward to rolling it out around the counties.”
‘When the Eye Has Gone’, which is also supported by the Arts Council, will begin its nationwide tour at Somerset’s Taunton headquarters on November 1 and will visit all 18 county grounds before the final performance at Northamptonshire’s Wantage Road on November 24.
Auditions for the role of Milburn have just taken place and the identity of the actor who will play the role of the tragic cricketer will be announced shortly.
When the Eye Has Gone’ is the PCA’s 2016 initiative to promote mental health and wellbeing and is part of the Mind Matters series. Further details of the PCA Mental Health Charter at: http://www.thepca.co.uk/health-and-wellbeing.html
Tickets cost £10 for adults and £8 for concessions. To book: Visit https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/the-professional-cricketers-association
November 2016. 1 Somerset (The Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton), 2 Gloucestershire CCC (The Brightside Ground, Bristol), 3 Glamorgan (The SSE SWALEC, Cardiff), 4 Worcestershire (New Road, Worcester), 7 Warwickshire (Edgbaston), 8 Lancashire (Emirates Old Trafford), 9 Derbyshire (The 3aaa County Ground, Derby – TBC), 10 Yorkshire (Headingley Carnegie), 11 Durham (Emirates Riverside, Chester-le-Street), 14 Essex (The Essex County Ground, Chelmsford), 15 Kent (The Spitfire Ground, Canterbury), 16 Sussex (The 1st Central County Ground, Hove), 17 Surrey (The Kia Oval), 18 Middlesex (Lord’s), 21 Hampshire (Ageas Bowl), 22 Leicestershire (Fischer County Ground, Leicester), 23 Nottinghamshire (Trent Bridge Inn, Nottingham), 24 Northamptonshire (County Ground, Northampton).