IF ENGLAND’S cricketers are feeling a little sore after their Ashes humiliation, spare a thought for the media organisations that invested so much in their desire to provide comprehensive coverage.

We won’t even go near the BBC, which appeared to have vast armies of publicly-funded journos lapping up the sunshine and Shiraz. Let’s turn to The Daily Telegraph, which clearly saw the series as the first real test of its all-singing, all-dancing multimedia hub.

Just look at the goodies on offer for the Perth Test: ball-by-ball coverage from 2.30am (based on the much-imitated, smart-arsed Guardian glib-fest); a daily email at 9am; match report and expert comment at 10am; audio from Simon Hughes and Terry Jenner at 11.30am; Derek Pringle’s Audio Slideshow (whatever that might be) at noon; Simon Hughes on video at 3.30pm; and – the tour de force – at 4.30pm when Michael Henderson comes round to your house and shouts the close-of-play scorecard through your letterbox.