The International Cricket council has reversed a previous decision to reduce the number of teams in the 2015 World Cup from 14 to 10.
The board came to the original decision last October amid criticism that the tournament was too long.
Today's announcement means that four associate nations will join the ten full members - Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Zimbabwe - in the next cup, which is being held in Australia and New Zealand.
Ireland are favourites to secure a place, while Scotland, Holland, Canada and Kenya are among the other nations who will be jockeying for a spot.
The ICC also announced that the World Twenty20 tournaments in 2012 and 2014 would be cut back to 12 teams, while the 2019 World Cup would be a ten-team tournament, comprising eight on direct rankings and two from qualifiers.
Written by
Neil Wilkes
Neil Wilkes
