nline interest in cricket has reached record levels as fans turn to the internet for news of the closest Ashes Test series for years. The antics of Flintoff and co have boosted online traffic by more than 25 per cent compared with last summer. Traffic to cricket websites such as Cricinfo.com, Cricbuzz.com and the online site of the English and Wales Cricket Board, the top three UK sites, has rocketed, according to online measurement firm Hitwise.

Cricinfo.com said it reached around 1.5 million people during the third Test, a 50% increase on the previous Test. Meanwhile, Guardian Unlimited�s over-by-over coverage of the Test series has been attracting up to 1.5m hits a day, up from around 700,000 last summer.... more