Sydney, February 13:

Defending champions Australia will take injured allrounder Andrew Symonds and unpredictable paceman Shaun Tait to next month’s cricket World Cup and leave Ashes bowling hero Stuart Clark at home.

Selectors also found room for back-up wicketkeeper Brad Haddin, with Adam Gilchrist gaining permission to travel three days later than the rest of the squad as his wife is expecting their third child. Leg-spinner Cameron White was also overlooked with selectors relying on wrist-spinner Brad Hogg, complemented by spin part-timers Michael Clarke and Symonds.

Chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch said Tait was preferred to Clark, believing the South Australian slinger was a more attacking option. Just over a month ago Clark finished Australia’s leading bowler in the 5-0 Ashes Test series win over England with 26 wickets at 17.03.

Symonds’ inclusion comes despite the match-winning allrounder recuperating from surgery last week on a torn bicep tendon. “His rehabilitation following surgery is going as well, if not better than expected,” Hilditch said. Symonds, whose absence was sorely missed as Australia crashed to a stunning 2-0 loss to England in last weekend’s tri-series finals, said he expects to play a role in the World Cup.

Hilditch said Gilchrist was expected to be available for Australia’s warm-up games against Zimbabwe on March 6 and England on March 9. Haddin was rewarded for his dominance in interstate cricket, adding versatility to the squad by being Gilchrist’s back-up or ability to play as a specialist batsman.

“To be part of a World Cup campaign is every cricketer’s dream,” said Haddin. Hilditch sees Haddin’s run-making ability and wicketkeeping skills as a big bonus for the Australian squad. “We see him capable of batting everywhere in the order and he gives us massive flexibility for the Cup,” Hilditch said. “In addition, he provides us with cover as a second wicketkeeper should Adam Gilchrist become injured during the tournament.”

Australia begin their quest for a third consecutive World Cup against Scotland (March 14) and the Netherlands (March 18) before their final group game against the world number two team, South Africa, on March 24.

WC 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.

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

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.

SCOTLAND: Craig Wright (c). 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.

BANGLADESH: Habibul Bashar (captain), Shahriar Nafees, Tamim Iqbal, Aftab Ahmed, Saqibul Hasan, Mohammad Ashraful, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Rafique, Abdur Razzak, Mashrafe Mortaza, Shahadat Hossain, Tapash Baisya, Syed Rasel, Rajin Saleh, Javed Omar.

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.