With Ashes fever gripping the UK, an unlikely Twitter celebrity has been born. Ashley Kerekes, a 22-year-old babysitter from Massachusetts, holds the @theashes username and saw her followers rise from 300 to over 6,100 over the weekend. Almost all were asking her for updates from Brisbane.

Somewhat surprised and a little frustrated by the sudden uptake in interest, Kerekes, who has never picked up a cricket bat, tweeted ‘I AM NOT A FREAKING CRICKET MATCH’.

The clamour to see Kerekes attending a Test between England and the Aussies grew to the extent that Vodafone tweeted her about helping her travel Down Under at #gettheashestotheashes.

 
Within hours, Qantas had offered her free flights to watch a Test between England and the Aussies. Not one to pass up an opportunity, Kerekes has been selling T-shirts online emblazoned with her classic tweet to fund a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Australia.

Kerekes, who usually tweets about Glee and knitting patterns, has been bowled over by the reaction, saying she “intends reading up on the rules (of cricket) as soon as she recovers from the shock”.