'ICC's decision to exclude minnows from WC is backward'

Former International Cricket Council (ICC) chief executive Malcolm Speed has criticised the decision of the game's governing body to exclude minnow nations from the 2015 World Cup.

The ICC has confirmed that the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand would be contested by the 10 nations, four fewer than the recent tournament held in the subcontinent.

"The decision strikes me as an insular, parochial decision that just perpetuates the 10 full-member countries, who are actually full members because they are Test-playing countries," the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Speed, as saying.

"They're not full members because they're ODI-playing countries, they are chosen because they can sustain Test cricket. But other countries are then excluded from the major one-day tournament, so I think it's a very insular, backward-looking decision," he added.

The previous World Cup format had been heavily criticized for the length of time between team's group matches and as a result, taking six weeks to complete the event.

Canada, Kenya, the Netherlands, Ireland and Zimbabwe were the non-Test playing nations participating in the 2011 edition on the Indian sub-continent.