England discover World Cup fate

England have been drawn against India, West Indies and South Africa in their seven-team group for the 2011 Cricket World Cup in the Indian sub-continent. Bangladesh, the Netherlands and Ireland complete Group B, while world champions Australia are in Group A alongside New Zealand, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Zimbabwe, Canada and Kenya make up the other sides in the 14-team tournament. India will host 29 of the tournament's 49 matches, while Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will share the other 20. Bangladesh capital Dhaka is due to host the opening ceremony on 18 February. Pakistan had been scheduled to host a number of matches, but were stripped of co-hosting rights because of security problems in the country. Fierce rivals India and Pakistan have been kept apart in the group stages, while Australia, who have have won the previous three World Cups, will face neighbours New Zealand, whom they beat by six wickets in the final of the Champions Trophy on Monday. Organisers have revised the format of the tournament following criticism about the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean, with the number of teams cut from 16 to 14 as well as 49 matches in all compared to 51.

The two groups of seven for the 2011 World Cup are also in contrast to the four groups of four before a Super Eight stage in the six-weel long competition in the Caribbean. "We're already certain that it will be shorter. You can be sure that we at the ICC had learnt from past mistakes," said ICC president David Morgan. "I mean there is no doubt that the ICC World Cup in the Caribbean was unsuccessful in some aspects. "We've learnt from that and I think that it's not worthy that we've now staged three highly successful events - 2007 and 2009 - World Twenty20 and now the Champions Trophy in the same years." ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat added: "We're on record as saying that we acknowledged that 2007 might have been longer than desired. So we want to take a week off, if not more."

Cricket World Cup groups:

Group A: Australia, Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Canada, Kenya Group B: India, South Africa, England, West Indies, Bangladesh, Ireland, Netherlands