Test captain Steve Waugh's hopes of making it to the Australian team for next year's limited-overs World Cup were dashed with the announcement of the 15-man squad on Tuesday.

Waugh led Australia to victory in the last World Cup in 1999 and also played in the side that won the 1987 World Cup, but failed to fight his way back into the side after losing the captaincy to Ricky Ponting in February.

Shane Warne has been retained in the hope that he will recover from his shoulder injury before the defending champions' first match on February 11.

However, there are few real surprises in the final squad. In a statement, Australia's chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns said the squad had been picked on recent form.

"The twelve players who represented Australia in the first two (one-day) series matches of the season (against England) have been players we have backed for some time. So it was always reasonable to expect us to go with those players again given our (team's) good form in one-day cricket over the past year," he said.

"Jimmy Maher has been the extra batsman in the squad since the tour of South Africa earlier this year and he deserves his chance after doing well there and also performing well in one-day cricket this season."

"Brad Hogg replaced Shane Warne in the series match in Perth and given his performance there, on top of his excellent one-day form of the past few seasons, he deserves his spot as a back-up to Shane."

"(All-rounder) Andrew Symonds offers us variety and match-winning potential. His fielding alone makes him stand out from the crowd and there is also the option he gives us with the ball as he can bowl medium pace or off-spin."

"As a batsman, he can score at a rapid rate and has the ability to change the course of a game. He is a player we feel is ready to offer us a consistent all-round package."

Leg-spinner Warne was selected despite dislocating his shoulder earlier in December. Under the competition regulations, he can be replaced if he fails to recover in time.

"Shane Warne has been selected on the basis that he will be fit for the tournament, but if that is not the case we will obviously review that situation," Hohns said.

The champions will depart for South Africa on January 30 and will open their defence with a match against Pakistan in Johannesburg on February 11.

The squad: Ricky Ponting (captain), Adam Gilchrist, Michael Bevan, Andy Bichel, Jason Gillespie, Matthew Hayden, Brad Hogg, Brett Lee, Darren Lehmann, Jimmy Maher, Damien Martyn, Glenn McGrath, Andrew Symonds, Shane Warne, Shane Watson.