Warne backs Tait at World Cup

Shane Warne believes Shaun Tait will be a useful addition to Australia's World Cup defence, but he was surprised by the omissions of Stuart Clark and Cameron White from the 15-man squad. Warne told AAP Tait was an excellent choice because of his "explosive pace and versatility".

"He can bowl the powerplays or he can take the new rock and bowl at 160kph and take early wickets," Warne, who retired at the Sydney Test, said. "The key to one-day cricket is taking wickets, and when you've got someone who can bowl that express pace, he can take wickets at any stage of the game."

However, Warne felt Clark and White, who is the leading candidate to replace Andrew Symonds if he is not fit, were unlucky. "I thought Cameron White, in that No. 7 sort of spot, is a finisher who can clear the fence, [but also] knock it around, so I was a little bit surprised. But I suppose you can't fit everybody in and hopefully the guys who were picked in the squad will do the job.''

In his column in The Times this week Warne said England were an outsider to win the World Cup, but he told AAP the CB Series victory did not make up for the tourists losing the Ashes. "It shows that in one-day cricket anyone can win and the way they fought back shows a bit of character," he said. "But England will be very, very disappointed with their tour, to lose 5-0. It took them a couple of months to win their first game.''