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Australia look to have fun

With the high-pressure Ashes series run and won, Australia will approach tonight's Twenty20 clash with England as a release valve of fun and enjoyment ahead of the one-day summer.

And, according to big-hitting allrounder Andrew Symonds, England would be well served to do likewise after suffering a demoralising whitewash in the Test series.

"A game like this is pretty much fun, so you don't want to be stringing yourself up with your bootlaces if they were to get flogged again tomorrow night," Symonds said yesterday.

"That's not what the idea of the exercise is. It should be a good fun night."

Symonds and teammate Mitchell Johnson, or "Roy" and "Notch" as they'll be known tonight, warmed up for the Twenty20 international with an unusual training session yesterday – bashing golf balls off a Sydney driving range with their cricket bats.

The pair showed impressive distance off the tee but will be looking to put cricket balls into the sold-out SCG gallery when the action heats up in the 40-over carnival.

"It's probably the best game of cricket for us (post-Ashes), really. We don't have to take it too seriously," Symonds said.

England said it took plusses out of beating Australia in a Twenty20 game before the 2005 Ashes series and yesterday indicated it would be seeking to do the same tonight.

But with the advantage of an already successful summer, Symonds thinks the Aussies won't be taking the result nearly as seriously – win, lose or draw.

"You do still have that element of pride at the end of the day, but it doesn't have that sense of seriousness about it," Symonds said.

"If you win, you win. We won't be taking it into the first one-day international, saying we rolled England in a Twenty20 game. The teams will probably have a bit of fun with each other."

Players will be miked up to talk to TV commentators and interact with fans.

Twenty20 has yet to settle down into a credible slot in cricket and most Australian players are in favour of keeping it at the end of the scale. But the inaugural World Cup for the ultra-short version will be held later this year.

"I think it is just a game people are still trying to work out how to play, strategy and so on," Symonds said.

For Johnson, tonight offers a long-awaited chance to get a crack at England but he's not taking it too seriously.

"You have to have a bit of luck – you can bowl your best ball and get hit for six," he said.

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