Gibson's toss kickstarted first Oz-England Hollywood Ashes match

Melbourne, January 22 : The first Hollywood Ashes match between the Australian and English all-star teams started on Monday with Mel Gibson tossing the coin.

He played for the Australian team, led by Steve Waugh who stepped in to captain in place of Russell Crowe.

"It's great to be here - anything that brings countries together is good," the Daily Telegraph quoted Gibson as saying.

"I was involved in cricket a bit when I was younger and I know the game so I'm looking forward to watching," he added.

His team lost both the toss and the match, but only by one run with one ball to go.

Waugh, with a cheeky smile, said that he was disappointed to have lost, even though the match was a friendly one.

"It's been a long time since I lost an Ashes to England," he said.

ANI