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Waugh accepts 'favourites' tag

The warm-up games haven't even started but Australian cricket captain Steve Waugh has already penciled the June 20 World Cup final at Lord's into his tour schedule.

The Australians, losing finalist to Sri Lanka in 1996, are among the favourites to win the 1999 tournament and while the South Africans and Pakistan have avoided the favorites tag, Waugh ishappy to take it.

"I don't mind being favourite because it shows you're the form side,'' he said.

"Winning the 1987 World Cup was the highlight of my career and I'm really looking forward to the opportunity of playing at Lord's, it'll be a tremendous feeling to win two World Cups.''

The 33-year-old batsman said the Australian squad was the most well-balanced he's been involved with in 15 years of first-class cricket.

"We cover every option with this squad, there's nothing that can happen on the field that we can't cover, so it's really up to us to do it on the day,'' he said.

"Our training has been excellent and I think we've a pretty good chance.''

The Australians arrived on Tuesday in Cardiff after a drama-plagued tour of the West Indies, where they tied both the Test and limited-overs series.

The tour was marred by crowd riots at two games, with Waugh saying he feared for his life when spectators threw bottles and trash onto the field and stormed the pitch.

But the Australian skipper said he was more concerned about winning another World Cup than reflecting on the trouble in the Windies.

The squad is packed with potential match winners, including Michael Bevan, recently rated as the world's no. 1 limited overs player, plus fast bowler Glenn McGrath, leading batsmen Mark and Steve Waugh and spin bowler Shane Warne.

"Waugh, who along with allrounder Tom Moody is the only remaining member of Australia's 1987 World Cup-winning team, said the Aussies were treating the Cup as the "Holy Grail'' of cricket.

"We've been building up to this for the last 18 months - it's the ultimate for any one-day cricketer,'' he said.

The Australians have warm-up matches against Glamorgan, Worcestershire and Somerset before starting their World Cup campaign against Scotland in Edinburgh on May 16.

"We're peaking at the right time, which I think we did in 1987,'' Waugh said. "We were underdogs then, but we played good cricket leading up to it and I think we're in the same frame of mind here.''

Warne, who was controversially dropped from the Australian team for the final Test in the West Indies, said he was returning to his best form and enjoyed playing in the English conditions.

"I got dropped for the final Test but I thought my bowling was okay and it was only a matter of time before the wickets came,'' he said. "Fortunately (the wickets) came in the (subsequent) one-day series.''

Warne, the leading spinner in international cricket, said he was fully recovered from last year's shoulder operation and was looking forward to the World Cup.

"I enjoy the cricket here, I enjoy the conditions,'' he said. "It's a little bit tough for spin bowlers but because it's tough it gives me an extra challenge. I'm sure I'm going to cause the batsmen some trouble.''

Bevan, who says he ignores statistics which label him the world's best at the shorter game, said the crowd unrest in the Windies was a disappointment. But it had not unsettled his preparation for the Cup.

"It wasn't a case of being shell-shocked, it was just disappointing really,'' he said. "I think it was pretty ugly for the game of cricket but that's over and now we're focussed on the World Cup.''