ADELAIDE, Jan 26: England coach Duncan Fletcher said on Sunday he believed Australia were hot favourites to retain the World Cup.

England were beaten 2-0 by Ricky Ponting’s side in the triangular one-day finals series.

“It’s a concern that we didn’t win one, but at the end of the day (Australia) is a really red-hot team at the moment, they go in as hot-shot favourites for the World Cup,” Fletcher told reporters. “In three out of the last four we’ve given them a good run for their money.

Fletcher said Australia would not have an easy path in their World Cup defence as several other nations were capable of claiming the title, including host South Africa.

“Australia must be favourite. But I think South Africa have proven they are pretty good at it over the last few years,” he said.

“They were pretty unsettled about nine months ago, but they’ve settled down now.

“And you should never forget sides like Pakistan, they are a very dangerous side.”—Reuters