Captain Ricky Ponting said the new-look uniform, made from lightweight high-tech material, took its inspiration from the historic "baggy green" cloth cap worn by Australia's Test players.

Ponting said the Australian players provided the uniform's manufacturer with input into what they needed, particularly its collarless shirt.

"It feels great. It's very light-weight. In the conditions we play in around the world it's important that you have the right technology and materials in your shirt," Ponting told reporters.

"The guys won't have to be flicking their collars right up through the game.

"The zip at the front will enable the collar to stay up and keep the sun off the back of our necks."

The uniform, which will make its debut in the one day international between England and Australia in Melbourne on January 17, may also be more sartorially acceptable to Australian fans than the vivid yellow version that has been used since the 1970s.

It is an important factor for Cricket Australia executives so fearful their grounds will be swamped by England's 'Barmy Army' that they launched a campaign this week urging Australians to wear their national colours at the series.

Cricket Australia marketing spokesman Adam Vincenzini said the 'go off in green and gold' campaign was launched to counter the influence of an estimated 40,000 England fans making their way Down Under for the series.

"As an organisation the last thing we want to see is our stadiums taken over by the red-and-white of the Barmy Army," Vincenzini told Cricket Australia's official website.

"For the team, it's incredibly important that they feel like they are playing at home and by encouraging Aussie cricket fans to 'Go Off In Green and Gold' we think we'll be able to give them the support theyll get a real boost from."

"It's also important that every single person that attends a cricket match this summer has a memorable experience and by encouraging a green and gold presence we think it will only add to the spectacle."

A Sydney-based Barmy Army organiser, who asked not to be identified, was dismissive of Australian efforts to galvanise their fans.

"It's all a bit dicky, I don't know if they can pull it off," he told AFP. "You can't manufacture what we've got, if they try we'll just laugh at them."

The Ashes series is the most anticipated in Australia for generations, as the home team seek revenge after losing international cricket's oldest trophy to England last year for the first time in 18 years.