Ashes cricket set for media-rich content

With the media watching every move (Cricket Australia said 2000 applied for accreditation) and different forms of reporting being explored faster than a Brett Lee bouncer (after being hit for three boundaries in a row), let's look at some of the sites worth perusing during the jamboree Down Under.

It's amazing how I didn't notice cricket blogging last summer, but that's proved how popular the term has become and how addictive it can be if you have one; with the time difference working to the internet's advantage over written media this time around, it only looks set to continue.

Two sites which blogged throughout the last Ashes were first-stop shop The Corridor, written by Will Luke at Cricinfo, and The Ashes Blog, which re-enacts key moments in a Brisbane back garden to by-pass image copyright laws. Both top stuff.

Of the other blogs, The Times' line and Length is the best. Patrick Kidd also linked Nutley on one of his posts, so that's definitely worth its weight! Others worth a gander include King Cricket, the BBC's TMS Blog, Cricinfo's Tour Diaries and Aussie-written The Cricket Blog and Sportnation.

From the Aussie media view, Fox Sports and Sydney Morning Herald's The Tonk are the two most likely to provide creative and lively debate amongst both sets of supporters. Most of the UK's broadsheets will no doubt provide an Ashes Diary along the way: only The Independent's Stephen Brenkley seems to keep these off-beat type stories going on a regular basis.

On the new media side, The Analyst will be providing his short, concise Telegraph podcasts, while Cricket World will be featuring live audio and real time footage throughout the Ashes. Matthew Hoggard will be pesterng team-mates during his video diaries for the Times, while the BBC will be showing brief highlights after each day's play.

A Classic Gold Aussie radio station phoned a few of us up last summer for a breakfast link, so keep your eyes peeled here if they do the same again. BBQ Bob, the host, was a typically lively, early morning DJ. One colleague always seemed to get one over him though, especially when he said that Glenn McGrath falling over the ball and chain at Edgbaston was England's gain. So with this in mind, check out this site and each venue's local radio station to see if any Barmy Army fans have infiltrated the live phone-ins.

And of course, Nutley to Nagpur will be posting from Down Under!