TRENT BRIDGE. England. Aug 7: Mark Taylor and Matthew Elliott gave Australia a sound start in the

fifth cricket Test against England at Trent Bridge Thursday, reports AP.

The left-handed pair put on 84 runs at lunch on the first day after skipper Taylor had won his fifth straight toss and decided to bat first on a flat pitch.

Both batsmen. Elliott in particular. survived a few anxious moments before settling down to play the leading role in stand so far.

Elliott. 49 not out. trying to gauge the pace of the pitch, twice survived confident shouts for leg before wicket off-medium paceman Dean Headley.

A couple of overs before, he nearly played on to Headley, when the ball bounced a few centimetres over the stump.

A draw here will quarantee Australia keep the Ashes for the fifth straight time, never previously achieved by an Australian team. Australia lead the six-match series 2-1.

It was Elliott and Taylor's first double-figure stand since putting on 133 runs in the second innings in the nine-wicket defeat at Edgbaston in the first Test.

Elliott. Australia's batting And of the tour, needed 31 runs to complete 1000 first-class runs, and reached it with a boundary off fast bowler Devon Malcolm — moving from 29 to 33.

England skipper Michael Atherton used six bowlers, to

dislodge the openers, but Elliott and Taylor stayed defiant in 121 minutes together.

The two batsmen hit debutant Ben Hollioake out of the attack. taking 23 runs in his three overs. 12 of them in the last, before off-spinner Robert Croft replaced him.

While Australia named an unchanged side. England made four changes.

England axed opener Mark Butcher, all-rounder Mark Eal-ham and swing bowler Mike Smith after the defeat at Leeds in the fourth Test. They were replaced by Ben and Adam Hollioake and medium paceman Andrew.

Malcolm took the place of the injured Darren Gough, England's leading wicket-taker in the series with 16 scalps.

Adam and Ben became the first brothers to debut together in the Ashes since Dave and Ned Gregory did so for Australia in cricket’s inaugural Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 1877,

The 19-year-old Ben is only the second player to represent England in his teens. Brian Close made his debut at 18 years and 149 days against New Zealand in 1949.

Elliott, who has two Ashes centuries to his credit in the series, has so far hit seven boundaries off 91 balls while Taylor's knock has included three hits to the fence.