BRISBANE, Nov 22: England's “Barmy Army” of travelling supporters drew first blood in their Ashes campaign Down Under Wednesday, trouncing Australia's “Fanatics” in a 20/20 match.

In a result they will hope is an omen for the Test series starting Thursday, the English supporters set their Australian rivals a target of 214 then skittled them for 151.

“I don't think it's indicative of what will happen in the Ashes at all,”said Brisbane North's Cricket Club secretary Bill Keene, whose organisation hosted the event.

“I'm very confident Australia will regain the Ashes.”The hit-and-giggle match between the two sets of supporters is indicative of the warmth with which the Barmy Army have been embraced in Australia, where their football-style chants have added a new dimension to watching Tests.

Keene, who has been involved in cricket since his boyhood in Brisbane more than 50 years ago, said he had never seen a more eagerly-anticipated Test series.

“When I was a boy they used to describe cricket as a dying game,” he said.

“Everyone's talking about the Ashes now and I haven't heard much about the rugby league,” he added, referring to the 13-man rugby code that normally dominates the Queensland state capital's sporting consciousness.—AFP