November 01, 2007	Thursday	Shawwal 19, 1428

DUBAI, Oct 31: England will be in a group with Pakistan and top ranked non-Test team when they host International Cricket Council World Twenty20 in 2009.

The groups are based on finishing positions at the inaugural tournament in South Africa in September.

Champions India will face Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, while Australia take on Sri Lanka and West Indies. The final group features New Zealand, South Africa and second ranked associate member.

Top two teams from each group qualify for Super 8s, playing three further matches, with top four from that stage then going into semi-finals and a final.

The ICC, while noting that since enough matches have been played in this new format to establish official rankings, has gone by the finishing positions in the 2007 tournament.

The ICC board, which met in Dubai on Wednesday, had discussed the groupings following a request by the England and Wales Cricket Board for early determination to proceed with the venue-event bidding process, which in turn would allow match tickets to go on sale at the earliest.

Groups (2007 finishing positions in brackets):

Group A: India (1), Bangladesh (8), Zimbabwe (9).

Group B: Pakistan (2), England (7), Associate 1 (10).

Group C: Australia (3), Sri Lanka (6), West Indies (11).

Group D: New Zealand (4), South Africa (5), Associate 2 (12).—Agencies