Cricket-Pakistan to open Twenty20 Cup defence against Bangladesh

CHENNAI, India, July 5 (Reuters) - Pakistan will begin their Twenty20 World Cup title defence against Bangladesh in St Lucia on May 1 next year, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said in a statement on Sunday.

Hosts West Indies will kickstart the event against one of two qualifiers in Guyana on April 30, part of a double-header that will also feature this year's losing finalists Sri Lanka and New Zealand.

Barbados was named as the third competition venue with the island's Kensington Oval also set to stage the final on May 16.

Australia are in the same preliminary pool as Pakistan, who won the tournament's second edition in London last month, while England are grouped with the hosts.

India, champions in 2007, will start their campaign against the other qualifier on May 1.

The ICC decided to stage Twenty20 World Cups in successive years to avoid having two major events in 2011, when the one-day World Cup is scheduled to be played in South Asia. (Reporting by Sanjay Rajan; Editing by John O'Brien; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)