US woman @theashes becomes Twitter celeb

A US woman with the Twitter name @theashes who was bombarded by messages about cricket was offered a free flight to Australia and started selling her own commemorative T-shirt Monday.

The Massachusetts woman, who usually tweets about knitting and the "Glee" TV show, was the subject of a Twitter campaign, #gettheashestotheashes, after snapping at microblogs about the Ashes series between Australia and England.

"I AM NOT A FREAKING CRICKET MATCH!!!" read an exasperated message on Saturday. "This is not the account of the cricket match. Check profiles before you send mentions, it's incredibly annoying and rude," she wrote earlier.

However, @theashes, whose real name is unknown, later softened her tone, enquiring "what the hell is a wicket?" and admitting she didn't know whether to support Australia or England.

By Monday, @theashes was offering a self-designed T-shirt for 19.90 US dollars at www.spreadshirt.com, with the slogan "I am not a freaking cricket match!!" with proceeds to #gettheashestotheashes.

"I hope no one is offended by me making T-shirts," she tweeted. "I probably make two cents a shirt. I'm not trying to get rich, just have fun."

Meanwhile #gettheashestotheashes sparked a torrent of interest with Qantas Airways offering a free flight from New York, as Ashes sponsor Vodafone pledged free tickets and a phone and a Ford dealer stumped up a car for her use.

@theashes, who has sent nearly 9,000 tweets about work and daily life, wrote that she was considering Qantas's offer but she also wanted a ticket for her boyfriend. The Ashes series runs until January 7.

"Okay, this has been insane. I'm exhausted," she wrote finally. "Howzat. I’m off to bed. See you tomorrow."

Cricket fans had mistakenly included her Twitter name on their messages instead of #theashes or #ashes, which are used by contributors microblogging about the series.

© Sapa-AFP