England8217;s success doesn8217;t worry Taylor

LONDON, May 12: Mark Taylor SHRUGGED OFF HIS OWN DISMAL BATTING FORM AND announced today his Australian touring team was confident of gaini...

LONDON, May 12: Mark Taylor SHRUGGED OFF HIS OWN DISMAL BATTING FORM AND announced today his Australian touring team was confident of gaining a fifth Ashes triumph in a row over England.

The tourists flew into London after a brief stop-over in Hong Kong and began preparations for a six-Test series as well as three One-Day Internationals with Taylor leading them for the first time in England.

8220;As a team we have come here to try to retain the Ashes and we are confident we can win a fifth successive series against England,8221; the lefthanded New South Wales opener said. 8220;But it8217;s 0-0 at the moment for this summer and we will not be taking anything for granted.

England have won their last two Tests in New Zealand, and they will have gained in confidence from that. But we are not too concerned about England all I am concerned about at the moment is how our guys go.8221;

England, still led by Mike Atherton despite his own rollercoaster performances with the bat, has not had a series victory over Australia since David Gower8217;s team beat Allan Border8217;s squad in 1985.

Although Taylor has not scored a 50 in his last 20 Test innings, the rest of the squad are in good form and have scored recent series victories over South Africa and the West Indies.

8220;My recent form with the bat is well documented it has been terrible,8221; Taylor said.

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8220;But I am looking forward to Edgbaston and the Ashes series and it8217;s great to be back in England.

8220;The grounds here are made to play cricket you don8217;t get any other sports being played on them and I have always enjoyed playing in this country.8220;Of course I would like to make runs in the coming months. We have four one-dayers, three Texaco One-Day Internationals and then two first class matches before the Test.8221;

The first Test is at Edgbaston starting June 5, the second is at Lord8217;s June 19-23, the third at Old Trafford July 3-7, the fourth at Headingley July 24-28, the fifth at Trent Bridge August 7-11 and the sixth at the Oval August 21-25.