Despite all the hype generated by Rupert Murdoch’s Sky TV before the start of the Ashes, they managed a spectacular cock-up before the series had started. As Chris Maume in the Independent points out, it all went wrong from the toss:
It was purportedly transmitted live - though that pretence was punctured by David Gower's revelation beforehand that Australia had won it.
It transpired that Mark Nicholas, working for the Aussie TV station Channel 9, was in shot, and because he also fronts Five's coverage over here it was considered necessary to edit him out. Pathetic, really. Except it seems to me that it almost certainly had nothing to do with rival channels. I mean, we are talking Mark Nicholas here. Wouldn't you edit him out of your shot if it was humanly possible?
