THE Australians had their first net of the Ashes tour at Lord's yesterday and a long one it was for Mark Taylor, the captain, who is eager to put a run of bad form with the bat behind him.

In contrast, the leg-spinner Shane Warne showed more interest in loosening up than sending down the dazzling assortment of deliveries feared by batsmen the world over.

Geoff Marsh, Australia's coach, said: ``We want to get straight into it and we are ready for action. Some of the guys have had just three weeks off while others have had five, but we all come off the back of a full summer season.

``We don't have long before the one-day series against England but there are no worries. We have enough cricket to prepare. We shall also be practising every day outside of our warm-up matches.''

The Australians will have another net at Lord's today before travelling to Arundel for the traditional tour opener against the Duchess of Norfolk's XI tomorrow.

There are then three more one-day games to follow in four days - against Northamptonshire and Worcestershire at the weekend and against Durham next Tuesday. The Texaco Trophy series against England opens two days later at Headingley.

Mohammad Akram, meanwhile, is suffering from a knee injury and may miss Northamptonshire's match with the tourists on Saturday.

The Pakistani fast bowler left the field during Monday's 52-run win over Leicestershire in the Benson and Hedges Cup.