England will lose Ashes 5-0: Warne

Former Australian cricketer Shane Warne was in London on Tuesday to promote his book, Shane Warne's Century, but couldn't resist taking a dig at traditional rivals England, claiming they will go down 0-5 in the Ashes series next summer.

"I want to see England win something first," Warne said.

"They've just won a dead rubber and now everyone's talking about beating Australia. South Africa won that series 2-1 and really they've only got a couple of batsmen. It's encouraging for England, but I wouldn't get my hopes up.

"England need to start winning some series. That's what they did in 2004 and 2005 and if they can do that this winter then the Ashes can be exciting. If not, Australia will thrash them. It will be 5-0 again, just like last time."

But he hailed captain Kevin Pietersen, with whom he played county cricket in Hampshire, as the best player in the English team.

"Pietersen has confidence. People will follow him and if England keep their momentum up and win the next few Test series they can give Australia a shake and it will be a hell of a contest.

"But if they keep losing series and only winning dead rubbers then Australia will thrash them."

The book itself, which is an extended version of his list of 50 best players which appeared in The Times last year, also earned some attention as Warne ranked stylish Mark Waugh ahead of his brother Steve.

The ace leg-spinner pointed out that while Steve Waugh "was a tough, uncompromising player whose captaincy was all about leading by example", he "took a more conservative approach and wasn't a big risk taker."

India's Sachin Tendulkar tops Warne's list while West Indian rival Brian Lara is ranked second.

Warne's first Test captain Allan Border is his highest-ranked Australian at No.4 while his long-time bowling partner Glenn McGrath is fifth.

The five Australians in Warne's top 10 players also include wicketkeeper Ian Healy (10th) and current skipper Ricky Ponting (eighth).

Photograph: Getty Images