ECB breaks window of opportunity

I've been listening to a classic PR balls-up unfolding on Test Match Special this afternoon. It all started earlier today when England batsman Matt Prior was run out. On returning to the dressing room, a window was broken and a lady member of the MCC suffered a cut leg.

It was soon noticed by the TMS team, who duly reported it on air and online, and pretty quickly, a statement from the ECB emerged.

It stated that Prior threw a glove, which richochetted off a kit bag, hit a bat, which then fell through the window. It continued that Prior and Strauss had apologised to the members. All slightly bizarre and a bit embarrassing and worth a chuckle, but not really much of a story.

However, less than one hour later, the ECB retracted its previous statement and issued a statement direct from England Coach Andy Flower, who apparently saw the incident firsthand.

It ran that Prior 'placed' his bat beside the window and the handle fell against the glass, which caused the breakage. The retraction was explained by the fact the ECB spokesman had been given the original information second hand, which turned out not to be correct.

The result has been magnification of the incident and deep mirth and mockery of the ECB's handling of the whole rather innocuous matter, with commentator Jonathan Agnew tweeting that "The inevitable 3rd statement will blame the wind". Summariser Geoff Boycott also had a good on-air chuckle, exclaiming; "And these people are paid for public relations!" As I write, Agnew has just added; "A window mysteriously broke on his (Trott's) return to the dressing room. We've had two statements about it, both from the ECB".

All this is a great lesson on the importance of striking a balance between feeding the appetite of a ravenous, mithering, 24-hour media in a bid to head-off speculation, and making sure you have your facts correct before you give the world your side of the story.

In the fast-moving world of media relations, things like this can happen. When journalists are pressing you hard, and you are struggling to get hold of firm information from the horse's mouth, you can be left grasping for crumbs from secondary sources - and it can be tempting to put out what you have.

But would a national newspaper journalist go ahead and publish factual information based purely on a sketchy second-hand source? Or would they hold off, do some more checking, and make sure they get it right?

PR professionals - and particularly those who have not worked as journalists - could do worse than take a leaf out the the book of good journalism when it comes to being sure of your facts.

No PR practitioner likes issuing retractions, because it means you have failed, in a very public way, in your primary role - providing accurate information to the media - and there will surely be some red faces in the ECB Communications team tonight.