WITH a wave of patriotism and banter – but no trumpets – the Barmy Army will descend on Trent Bridge for the start of the Ashes today.
But while the group will have to make do without the music of famous fan "Billy the Trumpet" throughout the First Test due to ground rules, the army of England fans were in full voice at Plumtree Cricket Club last night.
The club hosted a special match between a Barmy Army CC and rival Aussie Fanatics CC, ahead of the start of the latest Test series between England and Australia.
Ken Bloor, secretary of Plumtree Cricket Club, said the occasion was one of the biggest matches the club had ever hosted.
Mr Bloor, who turns 75 today, and has been club secretary for around 30 years, said: "We've hosted benefit matches for cricketers and had overseas teams play here, but we've never hosted an Ashes match between the fans before.
"It's very prestigious for us. We're really hoping that the teams will come again in 2015 when we celebrate our 200th anniversary and Australia are back for another Ashes series."
As for the main event, Mr Bloor stopped short of making a series prediction but hoped England would do enough to retain the famous urn come the end of the Fifth Test next month.
He added: "I think we'll just be too strong for Australia.
"I think they are good, but we're very good.
"I think England should go one-up in the series at Trent Bridge and go on from there."
The game at Plumtree saw the two sets of fans contest their own 20/20 game, and was won by the English by 11 runs.
The fixture was the beginning of the Fans' Ashes, a set of games between the two sides to coincide with the Test series.
Paul Burnham, co-founder of the Barmy Army, said: "It's the fourth time we've done this series and we won the last one in Australia 3-2. It is more about the cricket – it's about building a friendly relationship with the Aussie fans."
