Clarke reiterates Oz's desire to regain No.1 mantle in ODI format

Australian captain Michael Clarke has reiterated his team's desire to regain the mantle of world's number one limited-overs team and ruled out any prospect of complacency in the one-day series against England.

Australia is ranked second in the ICC one-day rankings behind world No. 1 India, with England ranked third and should Australia win this series and New Zealand win its five-match home series against India, Australia could go No.1.

According to News.com.au, Clarke said that as a Test team, they had a lot to play for during the Ashes as they were ranked fifth at the time and wanted to get back to No.1, adding that the same goes for the one-day unit, for which they cannot afford to take their foot off the pedal and be complacent in the ODI series.

Meanwhile, Clarke said expectations of a slightly two-paced pitch had probably contributed to James Pattinson being overlooked for the first ODI, although he expected the paceman 'to play a big part in this series'.

Clarke agreed that Australia would go into today's series opener with a psychological edge over England, but suggested that was because of the 2-1 win in the ODI series in England last September.