A FULL and hearty congratulations are in order today for squash star Laura Massaro, the new British National Champion.

Massaro beat Jenny Duncalf yesterday in Manchester to claim the crown - and that comes less than a fortnight after she ended the 14-month unbeaten run of world Number One Nicol David to win a major event in Cleveland (Ohio as opposed to the area that used to be North Yorkshire).

Darryl Selby also had a day to remember as he won the men’s title at the National Squash Centre just down the road in Manchester, dethroning the top seed and reigning champion Nick Matthews.

Yet last night while scanning through various TV channels and radio stations there was not a mention of the British Championships.

There was a bit about Austrian Elisabeth Goergl winning the downhill in Germany and rather a lot about Bolton beating Everton.

There was also quite an amount on the build up to the cricket World Cup...yet a major event, and any British Championship has to be classed as a major event, was not mentioned.

Sometimes you wonder if the sporting playing fields in this country really are level.

By the way, this is not in any way a vow that I am going to take up squash...I’ll stick to having a pint in a club where they play it, that’s close enough for me.

If the national media can cover snooker and darts then why not other sports?

They just needs a chance to go to a wider audience and a bit more coverage.