ADELAIDE: Captain Ricky Ponting got his way on Tuesday when injured all-rounder Andrew Symonds was included in Australia's 15-man squad for next month's cricket World Cup in the West Indies.

Symonds is likely to miss the opening rounds of the world tournament, while recovering from a ruptured bicep tendon but Ponting pushed strongly for his inclusion, saying Australia will be a better team when Symonds is available.

New South Wales wicketkeeper-batsman Brad Haddin was also included in the Australian squad.

Tearaway fast bowler Shaun Tait and all-rounder Shane Watson also won squad places after taking minor roles in this month's limited overs tri-series against England and New Zealand.

Tait won the final seam bowling position ahead of Stuart Clark in what Chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch described as ``an attacking move'' attuned to the West Indies' predicted slow pitches.

``We think (the squad) is capable of winning the World Cup,'' Hilditch said.

``We are still the best side in the world in our view.''

Hilditch said Clark and White were ``desperately unlucky'' to miss out on selection.

Haddin's selection added flexibility to the squad, Hilditch said, as he could play as a wicketkeeper or as a specialist batsman.

After warm-up matches against Zimbabwe and England, Australia will play Pool `A' matches against Scotland on March 14, the Netherlands on March 18 and South Africa on March 24.

Fast bowler Daryl Tuffey was named in New Zealand's 15-man squad for next month's cricket World Cup on Tuesday, winning his recall after a two-year absence.

Tuffey won a close battle for the vacancy in the squad left by the withdrawal of Kyle Mills, who is to undergo surgery on a knee injury.

The other 14 members of the New Zealand squad, which will be captained by Stephen Fleming, were all involved in the recent limited-overs tri-series against Australia and England.

The squads: Australia: Ricky Ponting (captain), Adam Gilchrist, Nathan Bracken, Michael Clarke, Brad Haddin, Matthew Hayden, Brad Hodge, Brad Hogg, Michael Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Glenn McGrath, Andrew Symonds, Shaun Tait, Shane Watson.

Pakistan: Inzamam-ul-Haq (captain), Younis Khan, Imran Nazir, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Yousuf, Shoaib Malik, Abdul Razzaq, Mohammad Asif, Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul, Danish Kaneria, Mohammad Hafeez, Shahid Afridi, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Rao Iftikhar.

New Zealand: Stephen Fleming (captain), Lou Vincent, Peter Fulton, Ross Taylor, Scott Styris, Jacob Oram, Craig McMillan, Brendon McCullum, Daniel Vettori, James Franklin, Jeetan Patel, Shane Bond, Mark Gillespie, Michael Mason, Daryl Tuffey.

Bangladesh: Habibul Bashar (captain), Shahriar Nafees, Tamim Iqbal, Aftab Ahmed, Sakib-al-Hasan, M. Ashraful, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Rafique, Abdur Razzak, Mashrafee-bin-Murtaza, Tapash Baishya, Shahadat Hossain, Syed Russel, Rajin Saleh, Javed Omar.

Kenya: Steve Tikolo (captain), Thomas Odoyo, Ravindu Shah, Tanmay Mishra, Collins Obuya, Peter Ongondo, Nehemiah Odhiambo, Morris Ouma, Malhar Patel, Hiren Varaiya, David Obuya, Rajesh Bhudia, Jimmy Kamande, Tony Suji, Lameck Onyango.

Scotland: Craig Wright (captain), John Blain, Dougie Brown, Gavin Hamilton, Majid Haq, Paul Hoffmann, Douglas Lockhart, Ross Lyons, Neil McCallum, Dewald Nel, Navdeep Poonia, Glenn Rogers, Colin Smith, Ryan Watson, Fraser Watts.

Bermuda: Irving Romaine (captain), Dean Minors, Delyone Borden, Lionel Cann, David Hemp, Kevin Hurdle, Malachi Jones, Stefan Kelly, Dwayne Leverock, Saleem Mukuddem, Stephen Outerbridge, Oliver Pitcher, Clay Smith, Janeiro Tucker, Kwame Tucker. — Agencies

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