Two-time champions West Indies have been drawn in Group B for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 to be staged in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

West Indies, without a World Cup title since winning the first two in 1975 and 1979, will play alongside South Africa, England, Ireland, Netherlands and joint hosts India and Bangladesh in Group B.

The groupings were confirmed yesterday, the second day of the ICC board meeting in Johannesburg.

Group A will include Australia, who have won the last three consecutive tournaments, Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Canada, and Kenya.

Shorter competition

The 14 teams have been divided into two groups of seven in a move designed to result in a shorter competition than two years ago in the Caribbean, reducing the number of games from 51 to 49.

It is expected to reduce the duration by at least a week after the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean attracted criticism for being too protracted.

CWC 2007 lasted six weeks, with the 16 participating teams divided into groups of four, and had two teams from each group progressing to the Super-8 stage (quarter-finals) before the semi-finals and the final.

The ICC board also approved yesterday the schedule for the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup, which will take place in New Zealand in January 2010.

During yesterday's sitting the ICC also discussed the promotion of cricket, and it was agreed to extend the scope of the project from promotion to include product research and analysis concerning Tests, ODIs and T20I cricket.