World Cup set for major overhaul

Australia celebrated their World Cup success but now their board has called for a shorter tournament © Getty Images

The World Cup could have a major, and much-needed, overhaul following the lengthy Caribbean competition, which was further exposed by the success of the two-week Twenty20 format. ICC officials are meeting in Bangladesh this week to discuss the next tournament, in Asia in 2011, with seven different formats on the table including a single league.

Cricket Australia has already said it would welcome a shorter version following this year's inflated 47-day tournament which turned many off, and they're not the only board thinking that way. Peter Young, Cricket Australia's spokesman, told Sydney's Daily Telegraph on Thursday: "We support a shorter tournament. Most nations do now."

The Pakistan Cricket Board would prefer to revert to the format of the 2003 World Cup in South Africa which comprised 14 teams in two groups of seven. This year's tournament in the West Indies featured 16 teams in four groups of four.

The PCB's chief operating officer Shafqat Naghmi said: "We don't support the format used in the West Indies where if a good team has one bad day, it goes out of the tournament. We will not support this format at all."