Waugh backs down on England as favourites claim

He was only kidding.

Australian captain Steve Waugh has reneged on his claim that England deserved favouritism for the upcoming Ashes series, saying a straight-faced "throwaway line" delivered at an official function yesterday should not have been taken as gospel.

Waugh and his Australian one-day squad left Sydney today for Turkey, where visiting Gallipoli will be the highlight of a two-day stopover en route to London.

Strong in his belief that England - victorious in four straight series and leading Pakistan 1-0 in a two-Test series - is the genuine article for the first time in a long time, Waugh does not seriously think the old enemy deserves top billing.

"It's going to be a good contest and I believe we can win - I said otherwise yesterday but it was a bit of a throwaway line and you guys took it nicely," he said with a grin at Sydney Airport.

"We've got the side, we've got the talent and we've got the experience, but England are going to be very tough, they play good cricket and we can't expect to cruise through the series.

"If we're not on our best behaviour on the field, so to speak, we're going to get beaten."

Waugh will be awarded the world championship trophy before the first Test at Edgbaston on June 5 as reward for Australia's unprecedented 16-match winning streak that ended in India.

The first Test between England and Pakistan, won by an innings and nine runs by Nasser Hussain's men, was the first clash of the fledgling ICC championship.

Waugh said England was probably the third, fourth or fifth best Test nation in the world at the moment.

"It's hard to put a rating on anyone but they're playing as good a cricket as anyone, they've won a lot of Test matches and they're on the verge of winning five series in a row, which is a significant achievement," he said.

"They'll be trying to get a gauge off us.

"If they beat us, they'll probably think they're No.1 or No.2 in the world."

Waugh labelled England as favourite for the five-Test series at the Ashes farewell luncheon at Darling Harbour Convention Centre yesterday.

Meanwhile, the Test players who aren't part of the one-day squad leave for England on June 19 and were enormously disappointed to miss the trip to Gallipoli, which Waugh expected to be quite emotional.

"It's going to be a real learning experience," he said.

"I'd like to know more about what happened there and the people who fought for our country so this is an important part of that process.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience and every Australian, if they can, should go there and have a look and learn about our history.

"It's good for the team - a great bonding exercise, probably the best one we'll ever be on."

Australia will play a one-day tournament against England and Pakistan throughout June before the real business of the Tests begins at Edgbaston on July 5.