England captain Andrew Strauss retains World Cup hopes

Strauss was out for a second ball duck in the final match of the series

England captain Andrew Strauss said his side were still optimistic ahead of the World Cup despite losing the one-day series against Australia 6-1.

Australia won the final match in Perth by 57 runs and Strauss said: "We were thoroughly outplayed over the series."

The team fly home before the World Cup, in which their first match is against the Netherland on 22 February.

"Conditions will be very different out there and we are still positive and confident we can do well."

England managed to reach 300 only once in the series, and even lost that match.

"We made too many mistakes too often," the captain said. "We lost too many early wickets too often."

Australia batsman Adam Voges won the man-of-the-match award after making an unbeaten 80 on his home ground at the Waca.

"It was terrific to get an opportunity and nice to get a bit of home support," he said.

"I've been hitting them pretty well this year and it was a great time to get an opportunity."

Acting Australia captain Cameron White was pleased with his team's performance as they look to win a fourth successive World Cup title.

"There are still some areas we need to improve on but winning six games against a very good England side means we're not far away," he said.